Irrawaddy dolphins facing ‘major threats’ in Cambodia

By Lauren Crothers

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AA) - Officials from World Wildlife Fund

(WWF) Cambodia have heralded the sightings of 10 Irrawaddy dolphin calves in Cambodian stretches of the Mekong river this year, but have warned that the fragile species continues to face threats to its overall survival.

The organization said Tuesday that seven calves were sighted in Kratie province and three more in the northerly Stung Treng province over the past year, which were discoveries of “great encouragement” for the Irrawaddy dolphin, of which no more than 80 are thought to exist in the Cambodian portion of the Mekong.

WWF said officials recorded six dolphin deaths, “including the tragic death of a calf which drowned after being entangled in a gill net which use is illegal in that section of the Mekong River”.

They found that overall mortality rates had fallen by 30 percent from 2015.

Still, WWF said the dolphins face “major threats” in the form of hydropower dams, “combined with decreasing water levels and collisions with boats”, as well as “rampant, illegal and destructive fishing practices such as gill nets, poisoning,

electroshock and explosive fishing devices”.

They noted that a crackdown on illegal logging saw an uptick in illegal fishing, as loggers turned to alternative methods for earning money.

Last year, WWF referred to construction of the Don Sahong dam in Laos as an “ecological time bomb that threatens the food security of millions and a population of critically endangered Mekong Irrawaddy dolphins”.

In Cambodia, the International Rivers group has said that proposed dams in Stung Treng and Sambor, along with several other dams in Laos and Thailand, are a “cause for alarm”.