KRATIE, Cambodia (KYODO)
Asia's Irrawaddy dolphin, once facing extinction, is now making a comeback and drawing increasing numbers of tourists to Cambodia.
Five years ago, Cambodia became concerned that the dolphins, mainly found in the Mekong River, would become extinct within a decade due to harmful fishing practices. But a ban by the government last year on fishing with nets, which entangle the dolphins, has succeeded in boosting their numbers.
Touch Seang Tana, a Cambodian specialist on dolphins and chairman of the Commission for Mekong River Dolphin Conservation and Ecotourism Development, said Cambodia is proud of its success in raising the dolphin population from some 60 in 1997 to about 160 in 2007.
Between 2002 and early 2006, about 20 to 30 Irrawaddy dolphins, also known as Mekong River dolphins, died every year because of illegal fishing, lack of protection and illness, he told Kyodo News in an interview.
The government is now actively protecting the unique freshwater mammal by introducing a system of training local people to become guardians of the dolphins living in their stretch of the river from Kratie province to the Lao border.
Half of the 72 river guards recruited in 2006 are local villagers from Kratie and Stung Treng provinces. The rest are policemen, soldiers, military policemen and fisheries officers stationed in the area, he said.
''It's the first river guard service anywhere in the world,'' said Touch Seang Tana.
Kratie province, home of the most popular viewing spots, is 315 kilometers northeast of Phnom Penh.
In the late 1990s, several Australian and Japanese experts who came to study the dolphins expressed concerns over the alarming decline in their population, he said.
But in a sharp turnaround, Touch Seang Tana said that at the rate they are increasing there may soon be other problems.
''Within five years to 10 years at the latest, we will be worried that we will not have enough fish for the dolphins to eat because humans are also eating fish,'' he said.
As his commission foresees river dolphins as a huge potential for tourism, net fishing was banned in a 200-km stretch of the river where the dolphins are found.
As part of the effort, local communities are now encouraged to diversify into ecotourism activities such as dolphin watching.
Ea Mong Den, director of the Kratie Provincial Tourism Office, said that 10,800 foreign tourists, mostly from Europe, visited the province to see the dolphins last year.
In 2002, only 3,300 foreign tourists visited the site, he said.
Sean Kin, chief of the Fisheries Office in Kratie, said that some 50 families, mostly those of former fishermen in Prek Kampi village where the largest dolphin pool is, are now involved in dolphin watching.
''Those villagers possess more than a dozen tour boats which are used to take both local and foreign tourists to see dolphins on a daily basis,'' he said.
The Irrawaddy dolphin, which reaches a length of up to 2.8 meters on maturity, has a gestation period of 11 months and the animals generally only have one offspring every two years. They weigh 150 to 200 kilograms and can live up to 50 years.
Touch Seang Tana said that Cambodia hopes dolphin watching will grow into another major attraction for foreign tourists in addition to the Angkor temple complex in Siem Reap province.
''Angkor Wat has its limitations. At that time we give tourists another destination. Tourists can go to see Mekong River dolphins on a cruise,'' he said.
He added that river dolphin is an important part of Cambodia's natural heritage.
In the ''killing fields'' regime of the Khmer Rouge from 1975 to 1979, Irrawaddy dolphins were killed to extract oil for boats, machines and lanterns, decimating their population.
''Five dolphins were killed per day during the Khmer Rouge regime in the great lake of Tonle Sap,'' said Nao Thuok, director of the Cambodian Fisheries Department.
''They can refine 25 kg of oil from one dolphin,'' he said.
Nao Thuok said that before 1975, there were more than 1,000 of the dolphins in Cambodia. Back then, they swam down back and forth between Tonle Sap Lake and their habitats in Kratie and Stung Treng provinces, he recalled.
Five years ago, Cambodia became concerned that the dolphins, mainly found in the Mekong River, would become extinct within a decade due to harmful fishing practices. But a ban by the government last year on fishing with nets, which entangle the dolphins, has succeeded in boosting their numbers.
Touch Seang Tana, a Cambodian specialist on dolphins and chairman of the Commission for Mekong River Dolphin Conservation and Ecotourism Development, said Cambodia is proud of its success in raising the dolphin population from some 60 in 1997 to about 160 in 2007.
Between 2002 and early 2006, about 20 to 30 Irrawaddy dolphins, also known as Mekong River dolphins, died every year because of illegal fishing, lack of protection and illness, he told Kyodo News in an interview.
The government is now actively protecting the unique freshwater mammal by introducing a system of training local people to become guardians of the dolphins living in their stretch of the river from Kratie province to the Lao border.
Half of the 72 river guards recruited in 2006 are local villagers from Kratie and Stung Treng provinces. The rest are policemen, soldiers, military policemen and fisheries officers stationed in the area, he said.
''It's the first river guard service anywhere in the world,'' said Touch Seang Tana.
Kratie province, home of the most popular viewing spots, is 315 kilometers northeast of Phnom Penh.
In the late 1990s, several Australian and Japanese experts who came to study the dolphins expressed concerns over the alarming decline in their population, he said.
But in a sharp turnaround, Touch Seang Tana said that at the rate they are increasing there may soon be other problems.
''Within five years to 10 years at the latest, we will be worried that we will not have enough fish for the dolphins to eat because humans are also eating fish,'' he said.
As his commission foresees river dolphins as a huge potential for tourism, net fishing was banned in a 200-km stretch of the river where the dolphins are found.
As part of the effort, local communities are now encouraged to diversify into ecotourism activities such as dolphin watching.
Ea Mong Den, director of the Kratie Provincial Tourism Office, said that 10,800 foreign tourists, mostly from Europe, visited the province to see the dolphins last year.
In 2002, only 3,300 foreign tourists visited the site, he said.
Sean Kin, chief of the Fisheries Office in Kratie, said that some 50 families, mostly those of former fishermen in Prek Kampi village where the largest dolphin pool is, are now involved in dolphin watching.
''Those villagers possess more than a dozen tour boats which are used to take both local and foreign tourists to see dolphins on a daily basis,'' he said.
The Irrawaddy dolphin, which reaches a length of up to 2.8 meters on maturity, has a gestation period of 11 months and the animals generally only have one offspring every two years. They weigh 150 to 200 kilograms and can live up to 50 years.
Touch Seang Tana said that Cambodia hopes dolphin watching will grow into another major attraction for foreign tourists in addition to the Angkor temple complex in Siem Reap province.
''Angkor Wat has its limitations. At that time we give tourists another destination. Tourists can go to see Mekong River dolphins on a cruise,'' he said.
He added that river dolphin is an important part of Cambodia's natural heritage.
In the ''killing fields'' regime of the Khmer Rouge from 1975 to 1979, Irrawaddy dolphins were killed to extract oil for boats, machines and lanterns, decimating their population.
''Five dolphins were killed per day during the Khmer Rouge regime in the great lake of Tonle Sap,'' said Nao Thuok, director of the Cambodian Fisheries Department.
''They can refine 25 kg of oil from one dolphin,'' he said.
Nao Thuok said that before 1975, there were more than 1,000 of the dolphins in Cambodia. Back then, they swam down back and forth between Tonle Sap Lake and their habitats in Kratie and Stung Treng provinces, he recalled.
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