Thursday February 22, 2024
BNN —
Imagine the serene waters of the Mekong River in Cambodia, where the rare and graceful Irrawaddy dolphins have made their home. Yet, this tranquility was shattered on February 18th, when a male Irrawaddy dolphin, a symbol of the river’s biodiversity, was found dead in the Preaek Prasab district of Kratie province. The cause of death? Entanglement in an illegal gillnet, a stark reminder of the threats these critically endangered creatures face daily.
The loss of this dolphin is not just a tragedy for biodiversity; it’s a wake-up call to confront the rampant illegal fishing practices threatening Cambodia’s aquatic life. The Fisheries Administration, in collaboration with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), has identified the marks of a gillnet on the dolphin’s tail base as the cause of death. This instance is a grim testament to the perilous conditions under which these dolphins, with an estimated population of just 90 along a 180-km channel of the Mekong River, struggle to survive.