Endangered Irrawaddy dolphin found dead, further reducing Songkhla Lake population
A group of environmentalists devoted to protecting whales in Thailand announced on Sunday that one of the “last 14” Irrawaddy dolphins in the Lake of Songkhla has been found dead.
The Thai Whales group said in a Facebook post that it had been alerted of the dead whale by Uthai Yodchan, a local resident.
The group said Uthai had informed the Marine and Coastal Resources Department, which dispatched officials to pick up the carcass for an autopsy to determine the cause of death.
Irrawaddy dolphins (Orcaella brevirostris) are recognisable with their rounded, beakless faces, resembling baby belugas. They are listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature due to habitat loss, fishing gear entanglement and illegal hunting. The dolphins weigh between 98 to 159 kilogrammes.
In 2022, Dr Thon Thamrongnawasawat, a marine expert and deputy dean of Kasetsart University, drew public attention to the near-extinction of Irrawaddy dolphins.
He said that only 14 of these dolphins were found to be living in Songkhla Lake and warned of the growing risk of extinction due to extensive fishing in the lake, which caused them to be entangled in fishing nets. About 60% of the dead Irrawaddy dolphins in the lake have been killed by getting tangled in fishing gear.
Many were also killed by boat propellers and worsening water quality in the lake.
However, thanks to the public awareness campaign launched by Thon, the National Marine Committee resolved on May 12, 2022, to make Irrawaddy dolphins a protected species in Thailand.
This resolution prompted the government to allocate funds to mete out measures to protect the mammals and survey their population in other areas, such as the Khanom Bay in Surat Thani and the Andaman Sea in Trang and Krabi.
Drone surveys in 2015 found that there were 27 Irrawaddy dolphins in Songkhla Lake, but the population had dropped to about 14 by 2022.
