The Hindu : Front Page : Dolphins on the brink off Vizag, Kakinada

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Dolphins on the brink off Vizag, Kakinada

Nivedita Ganguly

— Photo: K.R. Deepak

FACING THREAT: A dead bottlenose dolphin washed ashore near the War Memorial in Visakhapatnam recently.

VISAKHAPATNAM: Dolphins and sharks may soon disappear from the Bay of Bengal off the Vizag coast. The cause: increased fishing activity and movement of mechanised boats. If at one point in time they could be seen cavorting off the coast, sightings of the gentle creatures have tailed off rapidly.

According to recent studies by researchers from Andhra University, there has been a depletion of more than 40 per cent of the population of dolphins here.

The sea off the Vizag and Kakinada coasts is one of the hotspots of marine creatures such as dolphins and sharks. In this region, four types of dolphins are found — the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops), the spinner dolphin (Stenella), the humpback dolphin (Sousachinensis) and the common dolphin (Delphinus delphis).

The casualty rate has grown by leaps and bounds, and on an average one death a month has been reported over the past four years. Last month, the carcasses of three bottlenose dolphins were washed ashore on the Vizag beach. Dolphins and sharks are listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

According to the International Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, dolphins in South Asia and the Indian Ocean face a range of threats.

Habitat loss is especially critical for dolphins with a limited range such as the riverine and coastal dolphins. Pollution is one of the major causes, and the dolphins becoming a bycatch of commercial fishery is an issue. Research indicates that there is a consistent rise in water temperature due to climate change. All these factors contribute to the depletion of the species.

One reason cited by research workers for the depleting number of dolphins in the region is the steep increase in tuna fishing. Interestingly, tuna are said to be friendly to dolphins. Wherever dolphins are spotted, tuna would be present there, too.

“The sight of dolphins is a visual marker for fishermen to gauge the presence of tuna in a zone. They immediately spread out the nets and it spells doom to dolphins,” said Professor B. Bharatha Lakshmi of the Department of Zoology, Andhra University, who has conducted a research on dolphins in the region.

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