Coexistence of River Dolphins with Fisheries in India

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Authors Nachiket Kelkar, Jagdish Krishnaswamy, Sunil Choudhary, and Dipani Sutaria have investigated the distribution of the Gangetic River Dolphin (Platanista gangetica gangetica) and correlated their abundance with fishing activity to find if there can be successful coexistence of fisheries and conservation of the dolphins. These are the highlights of a paper that was published in Conservation Biology in 2009.

The present state of rivers in India is dismal. Pollution and intensive fishing pose a serious threat to most river and … Read More

Gangetic River Dolphins Population Grows

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The population of the endangered Gangetic river dolphins have grown to 223 from about 175 last year. This was revealed in a census conducted by the Vikramshila Biodiversity Research and Education Centre (VBREC). Gangetic river dolphins are India’s national aquatic animals. They are poached regularly for their flesh and oil, which is used as an ointment and aphrodisiac. Their carcasses wash up on shore regularly. There are only 2000 river dolphins left, down from tens of thousands a few decades … Read More

Task Force Report On Gangetic Dolphins

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A state level (Bihar) task force on Gangetic Dolphin Conservation, headed by the “Dolphin Man of India” R. K. Sinha, will submit its report to the State Government in the next five to six months. R. K. Sinha is the head of the Patna-based Central University’s environmental department and also chairman of the Central government working group for dolphin conservation. The endangered Gangetic dolphin is India’s national aquatic animal, but faces the following threats:

  • Multiple dams and barriers disrupting free
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