FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
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Government urged to protect Irrawaddy Dolphins in Songkla Lake

Government urged to protect Irrawaddy Dolphins in Songkla Lake

A Songkhla-based Irrawaddy Dolphin conservation club and concerned officials have urged government agencies to come up with proper conservation measures for the critically endangered species in the Songkhla Lake, Thai News Agency reported Thursday.

 

Uthai Yordchan, president of Ban Laem Hat Irrawaddy Dolphin Conservation Club, together with the Songkhla Farmers Council and its members submitted a letter to the agriculture and cooperatives minister and the natural resources and environment minister via Songklha Governor Grisada Boonrach.
The club called on the government agencies to enact measures to resolve problems related to the dying-out of the species in Songkhla Lake and to conserve the dolphins as well as urgently resolve fishing activities related to the netting of Mekong Giant Catfish in the Irrawaddy Dolphin conservation zone in Songkhla Lake.
Irrawaddy dolphins are considered as one of the five most valuable natural resources and are equally valuable to residents of the Songkhla Lake Basin, the group explained.
In April and May this year, about seven Irrawaddy dolphins were found dead. They had been netted together with the Mekong Giant Catfish.
The remaining dolphins inhabiting Songkhla Lake were thus endangered and at high risk of extinction in the near future.
An estimated 30 Irrawaddy dolphins currently inhabit Songkhla Lake, according to Santi Ninwat, professional fisheries biologist at the Songkhla-based Thailand Marine and Coastal Resources Research Centre.
 
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