Save our marine mammals

Chai Mei Ling, New Straits Times 17 May 09;

THEY are exotic creatures, so, too, their names. Irrawaddy, bottlenose and Humpback dolphins. Bryde's and pygmy sperm whales. Throw in a variety of dugongs and what a rich mixture of mammals these heavyweight sensations of the sea make.

The mammals have a few brief hours of stardom when they are beached, with all the media and public attention on them.

On the day the beached mammals die, buried together with them are the media buzz and community hype.

While Malaysian fascination with these marine creatures is understandable, Malaysian Nature Society conservation officer Fairul Izmal Jamal Hisne hopes this interest would extend beyond stranding cases.The carcass of a whale that was stranded and rescued but later found beached at the same spot it was first stranded in Pulau Gaya, Sabah, in 2006

"If we are concerned about marine life and wish to help, we can start by reducing the probability of them being stranded in the first place," he says. "And this can only come with a better understanding."
The country, particularly Peninsular Malaysia, is greatly lacking in data on marine mammals.

Although there are studies on whales, dugongs and dolphins by Malaysian universities, they are few and far between as these creatures are expensive to study and hard to spot.

"We don't know their status and population size. We also don't know how our waters are significant to them," says cetacean expert Dr Louisa Ponnampalam.

"But it's likely that some, especially those from coastal habitats, feed and breed here. Malaysia has very warm and productive waters."

Fairul says frequent spotting of juvenile dolphins is a sign that Malaysia could be a breeding ground.

In the past, there had been sightings of Irrawaddy dolphins in Malacca, Penang, Langkawi and rivers in Sarawak, and bottlenose dolphins in Langkawi.

Indo-pacific Humpback dolphins were spotted in Port Klang and Carey Island.

"The presence of dolphins shows a healthy environment because they are fussy, hygienic creatures," says Fairul.

"And being mammals, they are our closest relatives in the sea. They have the same biology. They contract the same diseases as we do, like high-blood pressure, cancer and stomach illnesses.

"So, studying them gives us an idea of how degradation of the aquatic environment affects us."

More information will also lead to better protection of these mammals, some of which are listed in the International Union for Conservation of Nature red list, and understanding of why and how they got trapped in shallow waters or ended up on the beach.

A theory suggests that disturbances to the earth's magnetic field could have disoriented their migratory tracks. Juvenile dolphins could also have misread the changing of tides and were caught too near to the shore.

But since most of those stranded were found hurt, the reason could be that they were too sick or injured to swim.

For this reason, one preventive measure is for fishermen to use dolphin-safe nets.

These are nets with an opening at the end which allows caught dolphins to escape, or metal ones like those used in tuna fisheries, which are detectable by dolphins which use echolocation.

While the majority of Malaysians are not fishermen or boat owners, we can help by keeping the sea clean so that the chances of these marine mammals mistaking floating rubbish like plastic bags and rubber tubes for food are reduced.

A post-mortem of the Bryde's whale that died in Pekan in October last year showed plastic bags, nylon ropes and bottle caps in its intestines.

"Nets, ships, boats, propellers, trash -- these are things that we can mitigate," says Fairul.

From 2004 to last year, there were 19 reported cases of marine mammals stranded in Peninsular Malaysia.

The press carried three cases in January alone, with many more believed to have gone unreported.

To address this, MNS and the Department of Fisheries last month discussed setting up a Malaysian stranding network.

This network is to engage relevant government agencies, non-governmental organisations, institutions and volunteers to work together in reporting and handling a stranding situation.

Also in the pipeline is the adoption of a stranding guide, which has the necessary information on how to handle a stranding so that the best assistance can be given to the marine mammal in the shortest time.

"Right now, the public have no idea who to notify when they see a beached whale," says Fairul.

"Sometimes they call the Fire and Rescue Department, sometimes they try to push the whale back into the water. But there are certain things they need to be aware of."

Ponnampalam, who is with University Malaya's Institute of Ocean and Earth Sciences, says the stranding network and guide are extremely important.

"We need a quick and efficient system of attending to a cetacean in distress.

"And in the event that one is found dead, the carcass is very valuable for science as one can learn many aspects of the animal's life history, especially here, where most forms of data are lacking."

The proposed network and guide are part of MNS' marine mammal conservation initiative and public awareness campaign that is supposed to take off this year but lack of financing is a problem.

The programme hopes to identify population hotspots, push for marine mammal sanctuaries, advocate for increased legislative protection and address threats.


THE RECENT TOLL

• Jan 21: A pygmy sperm whale died two hours after it was found at Batu Buruk beach in Kuala Terengganu. A female, the three-metre, 60-kg whale had injuries to its underbelly and pectoral fins.
• Jan 8: A disembowelled dolphin was washed ashore at Batu Ferringhi in Penang. It was two metres long and weighed 45kg.
• Jan 2: A rare giant whale shark, weighing two tonnes and measuring seven metres, was caught in the net of a Penang fisherman for two hours. The shark, which suffered multiple cuts from the boat’s propellers, died shortly after the fisherman reached Teluk Bahang.
• Dec 15, 2008: A two-metre-long dead dolphin, which had a deep cut on its head, was pulled out of the water in the Esplanade, George Town.
• Oct 15, 2008: A three-tonne Bryde’s whale died two days after it was found beached in Pekan. A post-mortem showed plastic bags, nylon ropes and bottle caps in the intestines of the 10-metre-long whale.

RUN FOR A CAUSE

IF YOU wish to help raise funds for Malaysian Nature Society’s projects, such as its marine mammal conservation initiative, why not do it the healthy way? Join the Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2009 on June 28, from which MNS and four other organisations stand to benefit.
By signing up, participants pledge to raise a minimum of RM500 as donation by June 1 to qualify as charity runners. There are five categories — Marathon (42km), Half Marathon (21km), Men’s
(10km), Fun Run (5km) and Kids Dash. The start and finish point will be at Dataran Merdeka and the total prize money offered is RM350,000. Aside from participating in the race, Malaysians can also contribute by sponsoring listed runners through their customised online donation profile. Closing date for registration is Wednesday. For more information, log on to www.kl-marathon.com.