The Death of a Ganges River Dolphin and Dolphin Protection Laws

The Ganges River Dolphin is and endangered species, with the highest estimate of its population being at about 5,000. And it looks different than the dolphins we are used to seeing in the worlds oceans. Because it looks different, one of them was beaten to death by fishermen in Bangladesh, according to CNN. They did it for profit. Because they did not recognize it, they thought it was a rare fish and they would be rewarded for their find. When they were not, they just dumped the body. Officials say it will be made into an exhibit.

Why is this particular member of the dolphin family so endangered? It lives in a river, where there are many shallow areas that have been created by humans damming the river. They cannot survive in shallow water.

All dolphins world wide are facing becoming extinct, although for different reasons. The ocean going bottle nosed dolphins are killed by tuna fisherman who use nets to gather large amounts of animals at one time. They also are harmed by the propellers of large boats and left with large wounds that can cause them to bleed to death. Dolphins do not cause any harm and they do not deserve to be put in this position.

Fortunately, measures are being taken around the world to try and stem the tide of loss. The Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, amended in 1994, is the main federal law relating to all marine mammals, not only the dolphins and it makes it illegal to do anything that may harm, harass, or kill a marine mammal and they are also protected under the Endangered Species Act of 1973.

The United States is not the only country that is taking the danger to dolphins and other marine mammals seriously. Peru enacted laws as far back as 1996 to ban the killing of dolphins. However, their efforts, up until now have not had much success. There is a great deal of poverty in Peru and the people hunted them for food. They also had a problem with enforcement, but in Feb of 2007, the Government of Peru and the Humane Society International began a program to bring tourists to Peru to watch dolphins and bring in a source of income that would be more profitable than hunting the animals for food. It is a new program and the results are yet to be seen, but if it works like it is expected to do, it will be a benchmark for other countries to follow.

Australia is one of the leading countries in trying to protect dolphins. The warm waters attract the animals in large numbers and the Government of Australia is currently fighting to stop Japanese fishing fleets from killing close to 1,000 dolphins in the waters around Antarctica. The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 is much like its United States counterpart in that it regulates any actions that have the remotest possibility to have a significant impact on not only the dolphins and other marine mammals, but any migratory animals.

As evidenced by the latest incident in Bangladesh, education regarding endangered species much be made a priority. The dead animal will be used to educated the public about this one species, but the fact that one had to die a horrible death to achieve it is a darn shame.

Sources:
CNN
Dolphin Institute
HSUS
Austraia Government