THE Department of Fisheries last month announced the establishment of a protected area for the rare Ayeyarwaddy dolphin in the upper reaches of the Ayeyarwaddy River.

The department issued a statement on December 28 declaring the creation of the 72-kilometre-long protected area between the towns of Kyaukmyaung and Mingun, north of Mandalay.

The main purpose of establishing the area was to protect the Ayeyarwaddy dolphins from extinction, the statement said.

A research officer with the department, U Mya Than Tun, said he was delighted with the decision and expressed his thanks to the senior officials who were responsible for making it.

He said it was important to protect the area in question because it was the site of a rare cooperative relationship between the freshwater mammals and local fishermen, in which the dolphins corral the catch into the fishermen’s nets.
This traditional practice is found only in Myanmar and Brazil.

“This culture of cooperative fishing is priceless for our country,” said U Mya Than Tun, who is also a member of the international Ayeyarwaddy dolphin conservation team that proposed the creation of the protected area.

He said its establishment was timely and vital because 25 per cent of the dolphins in the area were killed last year, either accidentally or intentionally.
However, U Mya Than Tun said a follow-up action plan was necessary to ensure that the mammals would be fully protected.

He said that in the coming weeks the department would buy a new boat for patrolling the protected area, and would step up cooperation with local authorities, especially with police for law enforcement activities.

He said the cooperation of locals, including fishermen and villagers, was also vital to ensure that the area was protected effectively, adding that education campaigns were conducted last year and more were scheduled for the coming months.

U Tint Tun, an associate marine biologist with the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society, said the establishment of the protected area would help reverse the decline of the Ayeyarwaddy dolphin population, as well as preserve the culture of cooperative fishing.

“The rare cooperative culture can survive in the long run only with a healthy dolphin population,” he said.

U Tint Tun said accidental deaths from entanglement in fishing nets and illegal electric fishing were the main threats to the dolphins.

For the past four years the Wildlife Conservation Society has worked with the Department of Fisheries on Ayeyarwaddy dolphin conservation projects, including conducting annual population surveys.

Concern about a gradual decline in the dolphin population throughout the region resulted in the mammals being given the highest level of protection under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species in October 2004.