Cambodia Mekong dolphins' survival rate

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Re: Mekong dolphins' survival rate improving

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Latest Mekong dolphin report from WWF who conducted a survey this month:

Mission critical: monitoring the Mekong dolphins in the wild, photo-ID based survey
Posted on
19 February 2020
Cambodia’s Dolphin Conservation Team conducted an annual population survey of the Irrawaddy dolphin in the Mekong River.

Hopping on board wooden boats, a crew of seven researchers in early February 2020 began their journey from Kratie Town to the Cambodia-Lao PDR border and back again, tracing along the Mekong River stretch of approximately 190 km long.

The research team comprising of staff of WWF, the Fisheries Administration and Kratie and Stung Treng Fisheries Administration Cantonments embarked on a nine-day survey trip on the Mekong River to observe the Irrawaddy dolphins, listed as critically endangered by the IUCN Red List. Equipped with highly professional photo cameras and other survey equipment, the research team took thousands of pictures of the animals, their​ dorsal fins to support photo-identification of individuals’ that when combined with mark-recapture methodology allows for the determination of individual dolphins. By doing so, the research team is able to estimate the population of the Irrawaddy dolphin in Cambodia.

“A photograph is taken of each dolphin sighted and the image of the dorsal fin is used to identify individual dolphins. A mathematical equation is then applied to estimate dolphin numbers. Additionally, a photo ID database of dolphins is produced and can be used to monitor future mortality, distribution, and social patterns of these rare animals,” explained Dr Mark Drew, Director of Conservation Programme with WWF.

The team surveyed upriver through all of the nine dolphin pools and then travelled back downriver to recapture images of the animal throughout the locations. The survey route stops in Kratie Town, which is the current downstream range of the animal’s habitat. Scientists however have observed that the dolphins could occasionally swim downstream out of the range to follow their prey.

Throughout the trip, the researchers spent days on their wooden boats traveling up and down the Mekong River with prolonged sunlight exposure, observing the water with their binoculars and camera machines, and spending nights sleeping in hammocks on the islands they stop by.

This trip requires a huge amount of patience from the team, primarily for the observation of dolphins in the deep pool areas, given the lengthy and complex procedures and protocols they are required to follow during the identification surveys. On the boat, every team member has a task to do: some scan the horizon ready to photograph the dolphins while others collect environmental data like the river depth, weather conditions, water turbidity (visibility) and GPS coordinates.

“All the conditions are favourable during our entire trip since the level of the river is low making it easier for us to observe the dolphins,” said Mr Sam Un Eam, Biodiversity Research and Monitoring Manager with WWF based in the Mekong Flooded Forest landscape (MFF). “We hope we can even photograph dolphin calves during this survey,” he added.

The field surveys will be conducted during the next three months enabling the research team to implement a repeated measures type of approach to ensure robust data are collected.

It was arduous work in the height of the hot season, with the sun blaring down on the team working in an open top boat. After the field work comes the next phase of the research taking place back in the office-– sorting through the thousands of photos and utilizing computer software to produce clear dorsal fin images to identify individual dolphins and provide a specific ID number to each animal. A database will be created to identify the characteristics of each dorsal fin and record location of sighting.

“Each dorsal fin is unique and has particular recognizable characteristics—their shapes can vary, the angle of the fins need to be calculated, they can be rounded or triangular, with notches at the tip of the fin or without,” Mr Sam Un explained.

The team’s efforts were rewarded by an exciting record of two newborn dolphins, becoming the first calf births to be recorded by the team at the beginning of this year. This new dolphin members were spotted swimming among other adult animals in Kampi deep pool, north of Kratie town.
http://www.wwf.org.kh/?uNewsID=360034
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Re: Mekong dolphins' survival rate improving

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The team’s efforts were rewarded by an exciting record of two newborn dolphins, becoming the first calf births to be recorded by the team at the beginning of this year. This new dolphin members were spotted swimming among other adult animals in Kampi deep pool, north of Kratie town.
A good start to the year. :good:
Shame that the longterm prospects for the Kratie dolphin pods are not so bright with the prospect of a mega-dam being built at Sambor. :( These dolphins are national treasures. If you want to see them in their natural habitat, better go to Kratie sooner rather than later.
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(Photo from https://www.mondulkiriproject.org/blog/kratie/)
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Re: Mekong dolphins' survival rate improving

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February 27, 2020
Kratie administration reports third dolphin calf recorded this year
A newborn Mekong dolphin calf was spotted in the Kampi deep pool in Kratie province’s Chetr Borei district on Sunday, making it the third to be recorded so far this year, according to the provincial fisheries administration.

Mok Ponlork, deputy chief of the administration, yesterday said the youngling was spotted with four adult dolphins in the pool by members of a local conservation community.

Mr Ponlork said administration officials and the World Wildlife Fund earlier this month recorded two other calves.

“Three dolphins were spotted in the first two months of this year,” he said, adding there are up to 60 adult dolphins in the Mekong river in Kratie.

The conservation group said 13 newborn dolphin calves were recorded in Kratie and Stung Treng provinces last year, while eight perished.
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50695522/k ... -this-year
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Re: Mekong dolphins' survival rate improving

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And now for some good news in these troubled times:
A New Dolphin Calf Spotted in Kratie Province
AKP Phnom Penh, March 16, 2020 --
A newly born dolphin calf was spotted swimming among other adult dolphins in Kampi deep pool located in Kratie province, said WWF-Cambodia in a statement here yesterday.

The calf was found three days ago by WWF-Cambodia’s Mekong dolphin research team, it said, stressing that this is the fourth dolphin calf recorded in early 2020.

“The team spotted the new member of about five-day old, swimming among two other adult animals when they were on the Mekong River conducting their robust population survey,” it said.

About 92 adult Irrawaddy Dolphins or Mekong Dolphin inhabit the Mekong mainstream. Conserving the majestic population of Mekong dolphins represents collaborative efforts between WWF and the Fisheries Administration, Kratie and Stung Treng Fisheries Administration Cantonments, as well as local communities and partners.
By Phal Sophanith
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Re: Mekong dolphins' survival rate improving

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Sad news for the Kratie dolphins:
Cambodia News (Kratie): According to WWF organization, a three months old dolphin was found dead floating on the Mekong River, 19 kilometers downstream from the Irrawaddy dolphin pods in Kratie city.
The WWF team, the forestry administration, and the specialist team are examining the baby dolphin's body.

Image
Note: The injuries were pixelated by the local news reporters. RIP.
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Re: Mekong dolphins' survival rate improving

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Cambodia News (Stueng Treng): On May 11, 2020, at 5 pm, a female baby dolphin was found dead, floating in the river at Borey O'svay Senchey district, Steung Treng.
Image
Mr. Don Pan, the river guard, said the conservation team were on a boat patrol when they found a dead baby dolphin that might be just born. The mother dolphin was swimming around the baby. The river guard spent two hours taking the dead dolphin into the boat and he said that he could see the mother dolphin loved her baby. She didn't leave the area where the baby was, even when many people were there at the site.
The baby dolphin weighed about 13 kg, was 1 meter long, and 10 centimeters wide. On May 12, 2020, the forestry administration gave the body of the baby dolphin to the WWF officers for examination.
Image
Mr. Tum Niro, director of forestry administration, said that it was possible that the baby dolphin might have been injured by her mother, but there was no suspicious mark on the body.
Previously, there were six dolphins at Chheu Teal, Steung Treng, but some swam away, and some have died, so now there are only three dolphins left.
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Re: Mekong dolphins' survival rate improving

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Ilegal fishing practices threaten Cambodia’s dolphins
By Phnom Penh Post -
August 27, 2020

Fishing offences in the Anlong Kampi Irrawaddy dolphin conservation area are still happening despite a ban, the Kampi fishing community said.

Most fish poachers use electric shock devices with power connected to their nets to catch fish in deep water, a practice that affects rare and endangered fish and dolphins.

Kampi fishing community chief Thon Narong told The Post on Monday (Aug 24) that illegal fishing on a large scale must be stopped. Investigations also need to be launched to catch offenders who use illegal devices in prohibited areas.

“They have to send the cases to court or the Irrawaddy dolphins in the Mekong River will become extinct.
“Offenders mostly use electric shocks of 30,000W connected to their fishing nets to catch fish in deep water. They do it at night and even in the daytime, ” he said.
In full: https://www.thestar.com.my/aseanplus/as ... s-dolphins
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Re: Mekong dolphins' survival rate improving

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Prek Kampi in the Pipeline to Become Natural World Heritage Site
AKP Phnom Penh, September 05, 2020 --

The Ministry of Environment is including Prek Kampi in the proposed list to UNESCO to become a natural world heritage site.

The intention was shared recently by the spokesperson for the Ministry of Environment H.E Neth Pheaktra, stressing that once becoming the natural world heritage, the site will be better taken care of and improved.

A place where visitors can see the rare Mekong River dolphins, Prek Kampi is a natural tourist attraction located in Kratie province alongside the Mekong River, approximately 16 kilometres from Kratie provincial town.

The Ministry is working hard to compile necessary documentations to support the proposal to UNESCO, added the spokesperson.

According to the Fisheries Administration which is working with WWF to monitor the population of dolphins in the area, there are a total of 92 dolphins in the river by 2017.

Currently, Prek Kampi is an attractive tourism product contributing essentially to the local and Cambodia’s tourism and economy.

In addition to Prek Kampi, there are three other protected areas – including Prek Prasob wildlife sanctuary, Phnom Tbeng natural heritage area and Tmat Boey community managed ecotourism – that are in the proposed list of the Royal Government of Cambodia to UNESCO to become the natural world heritage sites.
- AKP
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Re: Mekong dolphins' survival rate improving

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The latest news of the Mekong dolphins is worrying; a group of 25 dolphins have gone AWOL.

Concern for missing dolphins
Mom Kunthear | Publication date 22 October 2020 | 23:20 ICT
Researchers are looking into why 25 dolphins went missing for no apparent reason as the overall population continues to drop. The total population is estimated to be 89.

World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Cambodia country director Teak Seng said conservationists and researchers are concerned.

The 25 were recorded last year, but now researchers cannot locate them and are unsure if they have migrated.

According to a joint report by the WWF and the Fisheries Administration under the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the number of Irrawaddy dolphins is analysed and compiled every two or three years.

In 2017, the number of dolphins was estimated to be 92. The number today is around 89, not accounting for the missing 25.

From 2007 to 2020 the average annual growth rate has been 1.02 per cent and the average annual death rate has been 2.14 per cent, according to the report.

“Previously, dolphins in Cambodia existed in large numbers,” Seng said.

In 2018, the research team logged nine dolphin births and four deaths. Last year, they recorded 13 births and eight deaths. So far this year, they’ve chalked up six births and five deaths.

Seng said the Fisheries Administration and partner organisations are monitoring the migration of dolphins.
He said it is the first time dolphins might have migrated somewhere else and the institutions are researching the reason.
“They can migrate to small rivers because we study them only on the Mekong River,” Seng said.

According to the joint press release, the number of freshwater dolphins in Asia has sharply declined and dolphins have been placed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.

Phay Somany, the deputy director of the WWF’s department of Fisheries Conservation and Government Liaison, said on Thursday that in the mid-1970s, thousands of Irrawaddy dolphins scattered along three tributaries of the Mekong River and the Tonle Sap River. Today they live along the Mekong about 180km from the Anlong Kampi zone in Kratie province to the Khone Falls in Laos bordering Cambodia’s Stung Treng province.

“During our research this year we failed to see 25 dolphins we identified last year. The Mekong River water level is very low. It makes some dolphins unable to live in their canyons,” he said.

Somany said the failure to find the dolphins can be attributed to downstream migration.

Vong Savoeun, the Stung Treng provincial Fisheries Administration chief, said dolphin migration is not just a factor of nature.

As an example, he said people have used nets mixed with batteries and it makes the river unliveable.

“They have to migrate to other places.”
He said the sounds of large motorboats and racing boots in the Anlong dolphin conservation area might also be a reason for the dolphins to migrate.
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/ ... g-dolphins
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Re: Mekong dolphins' survival rate improving

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Update: Two Dolphins Found Dead. Many are Still Missing.
CEOCambodiaNews wrote: Sun Oct 25, 2020 1:45 am The latest news of the Mekong dolphins is worrying; a group of 25 dolphins have gone AWOL.

Concern for missing dolphins
Mom Kunthear | Publication date 22 October 2020 | 23:20 ICT
Researchers are looking into why 25 dolphins went missing for no apparent reason as the overall population continues to drop. The total population is estimated to be 89.

World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Cambodia country director Teak Seng said conservationists and researchers are concerned.

The 25 were recorded last year, but now researchers cannot locate them and are unsure if they have migrated.

According to a joint report by the WWF and the Fisheries Administration under the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the number of Irrawaddy dolphins is analysed and compiled every two or three years.

In 2017, the number of dolphins was estimated to be 92. The number today is around 89, not accounting for the missing 25.

From 2007 to 2020 the average annual growth rate has been 1.02 per cent and the average annual death rate has been 2.14 per cent, according to the report.

“Previously, dolphins in Cambodia existed in large numbers,” Seng said.

In 2018, the research team logged nine dolphin births and four deaths. Last year, they recorded 13 births and eight deaths. So far this year, they’ve chalked up six births and five deaths.

Seng said the Fisheries Administration and partner organisations are monitoring the migration of dolphins.
He said it is the first time dolphins might have migrated somewhere else and the institutions are researching the reason.
“They can migrate to small rivers because we study them only on the Mekong River,” Seng said.

According to the joint press release, the number of freshwater dolphins in Asia has sharply declined and dolphins have been placed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.
UPDATE
According to WWF-Cambodia, two dolphins have been found dead this week in Thbong Khmum province, far from their home base in Kampi, Kratie.
14 November 2020
Image
WWF mourns the tragic loss of a male dolphin calf about 1 week old that was found dead in Roka Knor commune, Krouch Chhmar district, Thbong Khmum province. There were no signs of illness or injury.

8 November 2020
Image
WWF is saddened that a dolphin was found dead in Prek Achy commune, Krouch Chhmar District, Thbong Khmum province.
A preliminary examination shows the dead dolphin was an adult female of about 27 years old and 2.2 meters long. The specialists group was not able to determine its weigh, nor any signs of physical injuries or gillnet entanglement as the carcass was much decomposed.
Only 89 dolphins left in the Cambodian part of the Mekong, according to WWF: https://drive.google.com/file/d/15B4n5Y ... wHJtC/view
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