Dugong, two dolphins drown in nets in Thailand

Bangkok Post 28 Aug 10;

A pregnant dugong and two dolphins have drowned at sea, say scientists and environmental advocates who are blaming fishing gear for the deaths.

The death of the dugong and her unborn calf drew an emotional response from Marine and Coastal Resources Department chief Adisak Thongkaimook who admitted officials have not been vigilant enough and "have so far mostly waited for people to report carcasses of the rare species", he said.

The dead dugong, which was brought from Surat Thani's Chaiya district, underwent a post-mortem at Chumphon Marine Biological Centre yesterday.

The discovery of the fully-grown foetus left some of the scientists at the centre in tears.

Veterinarian Patcharaporn Kaewmong assumed the dugong had become trapped in fishing gear and because she was frail and being so near to her delivery, she failed to save her calf and herself.

She is believed to be among the last group of 10 dugongs living off Surat Thani's coast in the Gulf of Thailand, scientists said. On the western coast in Trang facing the Andaman Sea, the country's other group of dugongs was last numbered at 20.

Their sharply dwindling numbers has spurred Mr Adisak into ordering officials to focus on areas where both dugongs and fishermen go, he said.

Also in Trang, two dead dolphins have been found floating off Ban Mai Rut and Ban Laempo, two seaside villages in Muang district.

A male Irrawaddy dolphin was taken ashore by a conservation group in Ban Mai Rut after a fisherman spotted it in a terrible condition with its bowels hanging out of a severe wound in its stomach.

"It's probably a kind of fishing gear [that caused the death]," said the group's representative Kritpas Srisaengjorn. "He got injured, choked and drowned."

The other dolphin was also believed to have died after being caught in a push net.