Study finds 6,000 rare
dolphins off Bangladesh
Thousands of rare Irrawaddy
dolphins have been found in Bangladeshi waters, a wildlife advocacy
group said Wednesday, a hopeful sign for a vulnerable species found
only in small numbers elsewhere.
However, the newly discovered
population is already threatened by climate change and fishing
nets, the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society
said.
Nearly 6,000 Irrawaddy dolphins,
which are related to orcas or killer whales, were found living in
freshwater regions of Bangladesh's Sundarbans mangrove forest and
the adjacent waters of the Bay of Bengal, the Wildlife Conservation
Society announced.
Prior to this study the largest
known populations of Irrawaddy dolphins numbered in the low
hundreds or less, a news release from the group said.
"This discovery gives us great
hope that there is a future for Irrawaddy dolphins," said Brian D.
Smith, the study's lead author. "Bangladesh clearly serves as an
important sanctuary for Irrawaddy dolphins, and conservation in
this region should be a top priority."
The Irrawaddy dolphin grows to up
to 8 feet (2.5 meters) in length and frequents large rivers,
estuaries, and freshwater lagoons in south and southeast
Asia.
Scientists do not know exactly how
many Irrawaddy dolphins remain. In 2008, they were listed as
vulnerable in the International Union of Conservation of Nature's
Red List based on population declines in known populations,
according to the news release.
The results of the study were made
public Wednesday at the First International Conference on Marine
Mammal Protected Areas in Maui, Hawaii. The news release did not
say when the study was conducted but Bangladeshi researchers in the
team said it was launched in 2004.
Ainun Nishat, the Bangladesh head
of International Union for Conservation of Nature, said the finding
was an indication that "ecology in the area is not dead
yet."
"There is plenty of food, mainly
fish, in the area for the dolphins to eat," said Nishat, who was
not involved in the study. "What is now needed is to restrict
fishing in the area to protect the dolphins."
During the study, researchers
encountered two dolphins that had become entangled and subsequently
drowned in fishing nets _ a common occurrence, according to local
fishermen.
Rising sea levels caused by
climate change also threaten the freshwater dolphins, the
researchers said.
Wildlife Conservation Society has
asked Bangladeshi authorities to establish a sanctuary for the
dolphins in the Sundarbans mangrove forest.
"The sanctuary may take time,"
said Mohammad Jalilur Rahman, an official at the state-run
Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute. "But we are already
motivating the fishermen not to harm the dolphins which get
entangled in their nets."
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www.wcs.org
