Only 20-30 Irrawaddy dolphins in Songkhla
The discovery yesterday of the carcass of a 15yearold Irrawaddy dolphin in Songkhla Lake prompted fishery experts to warn that only 20 to 30 specimens remain in the lake.
This was the sixth dolphin carcass found in the lake this year and the third in April alone.
An inspection by officials of the Marine and Coastal Resources Research Centre found that the 170 kilo, twometrelong female dolphin showed signs of having been entangled in a large trawl net, which are used by local fishermen to catch giant catfish.
Uthai Yodchan, president of the Irrawaddy Dolphin Conservation Club of Ban Laem Hat said that the dolphin population in the lake was at risk of being eradicated because of the 20 or so local fishermen who used large trawl nets. The centre’s fisheries academic Narong Sorrhep backed Uthai’s statement and said the lake’s dolphin population had dwindled to 2030 Irrawaddys.
Phuket Dugong deaths
In related news, the headless carcass of a Dugong was discovered on Sunday at Chao Mai Beach in Trang’s Sikao district – the fourth of Dugong death this year, a senior official said yesterday.
Prachuap Khosarat, director of the Marine and Coastal Resources Conservation Centre 6 in Trang, said the twometrelong carcass weighed 150180kgs. It was sent to the Phuket Marine Biology Centre for DNA analysis and to determine the cause of death.
Phuket Marine Biology Centre’s veterinarian Patcharaporn Kaewmong said that exact cause of death couldn’t be determined due to decomposition, but the fact that food was found in its stomach and digestive tract suggested this was a healthy Dugong that had not died of natural causes.
