UNB, Dhaka :
Freshwater dolphins, popularly known as shusuk, are disappearing fast from the country’s rivers due to illegal catching and the loss of their habitats caused by reduced river level and water contamination.
“River dolphins face extinction as they are losing their habitats due to the loss of the navigability of rivers and their water contamination,” Wildteam chief executive Prof Dr Anwarul Islam told UNB.
Terming the navigability loss of rivers the key reason behind the fall in dolphin population, Dr Anwar said the rivers in Bangladesh are losing navigability fast for lack of water flow, forcing the dolphins to take shelter in deeper parts of the rivers. “Even then they cannot escape catching,” he added.
A survey report conducted by the US-based Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) said there were 350 Gangetic river Dolphins, 6,000 Irrawady dolphins, over 1,000 bottlenose Dolphins, about 1,400 Finless Porpoises, and a significant number of Indo-Pacific Hump-backed dolphins, Pan-tropical Spotted Dolphins and Spinner Dolphins in the Sundarbans and adjacent water bodies and the swathes of no-ground areas.
“Fishermen spread nets in every inch of river water, and dolphins get entangled in their nets, and those are ultimately killed. People think that the oil produced from dolphin could be used for curing many diseases,” said Dr Anwar, a teacher of Zoology Department at Dhaka University.
Once dolphins used to be seen in all the major rivers of the country, but now they can be found only in
some big rivers like the Padma, Jamuna and Meghna and some others in the south. According to the Red Book of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), dolphins are now an endangered species.
Prof Anwar said, the ongoing water pollution and encroachment of rivers also contribute to decline of the South Asian river dolphins in Bangladesh. “There’re many laws in the country, but there’s no effective enforcement of the laws. People are violating the laws every day,” he said.
The wildlife expert said, extinction of river dolphins is now a matter of time if the navigability of rivers and the habitats of dolphins cannot be ensured. “Barely a few decades back, there were dolphins in the Buriganga and Turag rivers, which you don’t see anymore,” he added.
“If you snatch their feeding and breeding grounds, they’ll go to other places of the rivers which are not suitable for their living and will face threat,” Dr Anwar said adding that more dolphin sanctuaries must be established to protect them from danger.
Dr SMA Rashid, chief executive of the Center for Advance Research in Natural Resources and Management (Carinam), said fishermen are killing endangered river dolphins in the river Padma and Jamuna, and use their oil to catch fish.
He said, some fishermen caught dolphins in the Padma and Jamuna rivers to produce oil as one kilogram of oil extracted from dolphins sells for Tk 1,800. The fat from a healthy dolphin can produce 4 to 5kg of oil.
“The freshwater dolphins are at risk in the country. Dolphins used to be found abundantly in the Turag two decades back. But now there is no dolphin in the river. On average one dolphin is now found in every two kilometer range of the Padma and Jamuna rivers,” said Dr Rashid who currently working on conservation of river dolphins.
He said, killing dolphins is a crime punishable with imprisonment under the wildlife act. “Unless we work immediate to save dolphins, it’ll be lost forever from our rivers.”
About the importance of dolphins, the wildlife conservator said the presence of dolphins indicates the aquatic environmental indication of a river and control population of other aquatic species. “If the dolphins disappear from the rivers, many aquatic changes will come in their ecosystem.”
He said, the government has already announced a few sanctuaries taking projects with help from donors to protect river dolphins.
“It’s not enough to protect dolphins. The government will have to continue the conservation programme after concluding the ongoing projects,” Dr Rashid said.
In 2012, the government declared three areas of canals in the Sundarbans, covering 32 kilometres, as “dolphin sanctuaries”.
Around 12 km from Ghagmari check-post of Chandpai Range to Karamjal check-post through Dhangmari canal and Pashur River, 15 km from Jongra check-post to Andharmari check-post through Mrigamari check-post and five km from Dudhkhali check-post to Supati canal through Bemara canal have been declared safe havens for dolphins.
Freshwater dolphins, popularly known as shusuk, are disappearing fast from the country’s rivers due to illegal catching and the loss of their habitats caused by reduced river level and water contamination.
“River dolphins face extinction as they are losing their habitats due to the loss of the navigability of rivers and their water contamination,” Wildteam chief executive Prof Dr Anwarul Islam told UNB.
Terming the navigability loss of rivers the key reason behind the fall in dolphin population, Dr Anwar said the rivers in Bangladesh are losing navigability fast for lack of water flow, forcing the dolphins to take shelter in deeper parts of the rivers. “Even then they cannot escape catching,” he added.
A survey report conducted by the US-based Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) said there were 350 Gangetic river Dolphins, 6,000 Irrawady dolphins, over 1,000 bottlenose Dolphins, about 1,400 Finless Porpoises, and a significant number of Indo-Pacific Hump-backed dolphins, Pan-tropical Spotted Dolphins and Spinner Dolphins in the Sundarbans and adjacent water bodies and the swathes of no-ground areas.
“Fishermen spread nets in every inch of river water, and dolphins get entangled in their nets, and those are ultimately killed. People think that the oil produced from dolphin could be used for curing many diseases,” said Dr Anwar, a teacher of Zoology Department at Dhaka University.
Once dolphins used to be seen in all the major rivers of the country, but now they can be found only in
some big rivers like the Padma, Jamuna and Meghna and some others in the south. According to the Red Book of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), dolphins are now an endangered species.
Prof Anwar said, the ongoing water pollution and encroachment of rivers also contribute to decline of the South Asian river dolphins in Bangladesh. “There’re many laws in the country, but there’s no effective enforcement of the laws. People are violating the laws every day,” he said.
The wildlife expert said, extinction of river dolphins is now a matter of time if the navigability of rivers and the habitats of dolphins cannot be ensured. “Barely a few decades back, there were dolphins in the Buriganga and Turag rivers, which you don’t see anymore,” he added.
“If you snatch their feeding and breeding grounds, they’ll go to other places of the rivers which are not suitable for their living and will face threat,” Dr Anwar said adding that more dolphin sanctuaries must be established to protect them from danger.
Dr SMA Rashid, chief executive of the Center for Advance Research in Natural Resources and Management (Carinam), said fishermen are killing endangered river dolphins in the river Padma and Jamuna, and use their oil to catch fish.
He said, some fishermen caught dolphins in the Padma and Jamuna rivers to produce oil as one kilogram of oil extracted from dolphins sells for Tk 1,800. The fat from a healthy dolphin can produce 4 to 5kg of oil.
“The freshwater dolphins are at risk in the country. Dolphins used to be found abundantly in the Turag two decades back. But now there is no dolphin in the river. On average one dolphin is now found in every two kilometer range of the Padma and Jamuna rivers,” said Dr Rashid who currently working on conservation of river dolphins.
He said, killing dolphins is a crime punishable with imprisonment under the wildlife act. “Unless we work immediate to save dolphins, it’ll be lost forever from our rivers.”
About the importance of dolphins, the wildlife conservator said the presence of dolphins indicates the aquatic environmental indication of a river and control population of other aquatic species. “If the dolphins disappear from the rivers, many aquatic changes will come in their ecosystem.”
He said, the government has already announced a few sanctuaries taking projects with help from donors to protect river dolphins.
“It’s not enough to protect dolphins. The government will have to continue the conservation programme after concluding the ongoing projects,” Dr Rashid said.
In 2012, the government declared three areas of canals in the Sundarbans, covering 32 kilometres, as “dolphin sanctuaries”.
Around 12 km from Ghagmari check-post of Chandpai Range to Karamjal check-post through Dhangmari canal and Pashur River, 15 km from Jongra check-post to Andharmari check-post through Mrigamari check-post and five km from Dudhkhali check-post to Supati canal through Bemara canal have been declared safe havens for dolphins.
