KRATIE, Cambodia: The sight of two dolphins twisting playfully in
the murky waters of the Mekong river elicits barely stifled squeals
of delight from a boatload of eco-tourists.
But a short distance upstream, river guard Pech Sokhan sighs as he
holds up two large, tangled gill nets recently pulled from the
murky water -- evidence old habits die hard despite a ban on the
practice that ensnares many dolphins.
"We have to keep educating people every day," said Pech, one of 77
unarmed guards who patrol the Cambodian stretch of the Mekong river
on the lookout for activities that could harm the
dolphins.
Entanglement in gill nets -- vertical mesh nets left in the water
for long periods -- is the main cause of death in adult Mekong
dolphins, according to experts, who believe the grey mammals with
distinctive blunt beaks are in imminent danger of extinction in the
river.
Estimates for the number of remaining adult Mekong River freshwater
Irrawaddy dolphins range from 85 up to 180.
Although there are no comprehensive studies, the International
Union for the Conservation of Nature classes the species as
critically endangered.
The dwindling population faces numerous challenges including
unexplained high rates of calf mortality, as well as disease,
inbreeding and habitat loss.
But "gill nets are the biggest of these threats," said WWF
conservationist Gordon Congdon.
Freshwater Irrawaddy dolphins exist in only three river systems in
Southeast Asia, with Cambodia hosting the largest
population.
Community-based eco-tourism initiatives that allow poor villagers
to generate revenue from the "smiling face of the Mekong", mostly
through boat tours and souvenir sales, are central to protection
efforts.
And business is good. The region welcomed some 30,000 dolphin
tourists this year, up from around 20,000 in 2011 and just 50 in
2000, said Touch Seang Tana, who heads a government commission to
protect the species.
Kampi dolphin pool in eastern Cambodia's Kratie province, where
tourists can get up close with small groups of the mammals, is one
of the success stories of government efforts to save the critically
endangered creatures.
But not all locals can get it on the act, and despite plans to open
two more dolphin viewing sites, many find that cheap and efficient
gill nets remain the best way to put food on the
table.
"It is unending until the poverty is gone," Touch said about the
battle against the dreaded nets, which ensnare dolphins as easily
as they trap fish.
"People already know that gill nets kill dolphins. But they are
thinking about their own stomachs."
In what WWF hailed as "a huge step forward", the government in
August approved a dolphin protection zone in a 180-kilometre-long
(110 miles) river stretch from Kratie to the border with
Laos.
While fishing with small scoop nets, cast nets or hooks is still
allowed in the safe zone, dolphin-unfriendly fishing methods such
as gill nets and fish cages are banned.
Offenders are not arrested or fined, but their destructive fishing
gear is confiscated -- a heavy loss for poor
families.
But despite these efforts, river guards confiscated some 8,000
metres (26,200 feet) of gill nets over just a few days in early
December, Touch said, evidence the practice is still
common.
Worse still, since the ban came into effect at least two adult
dolphins have been found dead, ensnared in netting, he
added.
The race is now on to educate the dozens of villages dotted along
the Mekong about the new rules and offer incentives for traditional
fishing communities to diversify their income and reduce reliance
on fishing.
But the efforts have yet to reach fisherman Eam Mao, 55, who lives
a few kilometres north of the popular Kampi dolphin pools and earns
just over $2 a day from his catch.
"It's much more difficult for us to make a living than for those
who live nearer the dolphins," he told AFP as he sat outside his
modest home repairing a small cast net.
Still, river guard Pech is optimistic that the new rules can make a
difference.
"Now when we confiscate the gill nets people dare not object
because they know it's illegal. Before, they would chase us with
knives," he recalled, laughing.
