The Amazonian pink dolphin is at greater risk of extinction due to its use as bait for fishing of a species of low commercial value. elpais.com
The vulnerable pink Amazon dolphin, one of the few and most important river dolphin species in the world, is at greater risk of extinction due to its use as bait for fishing of a species of low commercial value. The alert is from the biologist Sannie Brum , researcher at the Piagacu Institute (Ipi) and who studied the habits of 35 fishing communities in the Purus River, in the Brazilian state of Amazonas.
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According to their study, the inhabitants of the region kill annually up to 144 pink dolphins (Inia geoffrensis), a number higher than any safe limit that guarantees their survival, to use them as bait in the fishing of the piracatinga (Calophysus macropterus), a ghourous fish known as the vulture of the waters. "We reached that calculation after we were informed that fishermen extract about 15 tons of piracatinga per year from the region and that 90% of the bait they use is pink dolphin meat", The biologist told Efe. According to the researcher, as the piracatinga feeds on rotten meat, the fishermen use as bait pieces of fish with lots of fat and even alligators. The fishermen prefer to use the dolphin as bait because their meat has more fat and a strong and characteristic smell that attracts the piracatinga and as their fishing is prohibited, they can not sell it in the market, explained the biologist. The caiman has a greater commercial value. For the fisherman, who can take advantage of both his meat and his leather, so it is less viable as bait, adds the partner of the Association of Friends of the Manatee (AMPA)
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"The calculation we made refers exclusively to the lower part of the Purus River, which is a reserve area, but we have information that the practice extends along the river, so the current volume of piracatinga fishing would require the sacrifice of 500 dolphins per year in that region alone, "according to Brum, whose study was funded by the Apothecary Protection Foundation for Nature." Other studies allow us to say that some 1,600 dolphins are used per year for piracatinga fishing. the fishermen of Tecé on the Solimoes River and that the number reaches 2,500 in the whole region of Manaus, they are scary numbers for a species considered vulnerable, "he adds.
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According to the biologist, the worst thing is that this dolphin extermination has as its only objective the capture of a fish that is sold for only 80 cents of real (about 0.34 dollars) per kilo and that is offered in fillets mainly in Colombia with others "The fishermen exploit it because it is a species of great size and high productivity, but the inhabitants of the region despise it because they know that it feeds on rotten meat," he added. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature ( IUCN) does not yet classify the pink dolphin as threatened with extinction because it is a species with "insufficient data", but the Brazilian authorities describe it as vulnerable. Most of the Amazonian countries have banned fishing and have projects to protect it. No country in the region has data on its population. An expedition carried out by Colombian and Brazilian scientists along 500 kilometers of the Piagazu and Purus rivers accounted for 2,168 dolphin specimens in 2012, of which 1,640 were of the tucuxi species (Sotalia fluviatilis) and only 528 of the pink. This species, also known as boto, tonina or dolphin of the Amazon, is the largest river dolphin in the world, since adult males can reach 185 kilos in weight and 2.5 meters in length, and has its habitat in the Amazon, Orinoco and Madeira rivers "Like any river dolphin, it is an uncommon species." If no action is taken, it may have the same fate as "the baiji," the freshwater dolphin that was declared extinct in 2007, "says Brum.
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The characteristics of the species raise the danger because the Amazonian dolphins have a slow reproductive cycle (10 months of gestation) and the mothers take care of their young for up to four years. In addition to their use as bait, other threats to the Amazonian dolphin they are the construction of hydroelectric plants, the degradation of their habitat, the oil exploitation and the increase of the circulation of boats and tourists. Burrum says that among the measures that have to be adopted urgently to prevent their extinction are the increase in the control of their fishing, educational programs to raise awareness among fishermen and the offer of alternatives so that fishermen do not depend on piracatinga.
These friendly and social creatures have lived for centuries in the Amazon and its tributaries, but, among other things, increased traffic on the Amazon River threatens these creatures because they are curious by nature and sometimes approach ships, where they are easily affected by the propellers.
In addition, the noise produced by machines, engines and noise pollution caused by them, is considered to produce a disconcerting phenomenon in their navigation systems, causing the death of many pink dolphins.
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Proverbs 12:10 "The righteous take care of the life of his beast; But the heart of the impious is cruel".
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