Philippines: New population of Irrawaddy dolphins discovered in Quezon, Palawan

Jonathan L. Mayuga Business Mirror 22 Apr 13;

A NEW Philippine population of the critically endangered Irrawaddy dolphins has been discovered near the coastal town of Quezon, Palawan, the World Wide Fund for Nature-Philippines (WWF-Philippines) announced on Monday.

The discovery was reported by Mavic Matillano of WWF-Philippines’s Palawan Team, aptly as the country joins the world in celebrating Earth Day on April 22.

The Quezon, Palawan, pod represents the fourth known group of Irrawaddy dolphins reported in the Philippines.

Along with the sea cow, locally called dugong, the Irrawaddy dolphin has been identified as “critically endangered” in an assessment report on the conservation status of marine-mammal species in the Philippines.

Scientifically known as Dugong dugon and Irrawaddy dolphin, scientifically called Orcaella brevirostris, both face an extremely high risk of extinction, according to the Red List Status of Marine Mammals in the Philippines report, a comprehensive and up-to-date list of the country’s threatened dolphins, whales and dugongs that was published early this year.

Dugongs and Irrawaddy dolphins continue to face threats such as destruction of habitat, entanglement in fishing nets, solid waste, coastal development, boat traffic and sedimentation all made more severe with climate-change impacts.

WWF-Philippines described the Irrawaddy dolphins as unique because they are able to literally smile; they are able to adapt to a wide range of salinities, too. Irrawaddy dolphins are lightly colored all over. They have a blunt, rounded head and an indistinct beak. Their dorsal fin is short, blunt and triangular. In the wild, they have been seen spitting out steams of water, another unique and peculiar behavior.

According to WWF-Philippines, Irrawaddy dolphins are not river dolphins. They are oceanic and live in brackish water near coasts, river mouths and estuaries.

“The discovery confirms the fact that the Philippines is a hotbed for cetacean diversity. Irrawaddy dolphin habitats must be properly managed to ensure that their widely distributed but largely fragmented populations are able to reproduce indefinitely,” said Gregg Yan, the WWF-Philippines communication and media manager in an interview.

Yan said the best way to conserve Irrawaddy dolphins would be through a species conservation plan. A good first step, he said, would be to minimize the threat of catching them.

“Eurohaline and river dolphins sometimes get snagged in passive fishing gear and drown. To augment fishing incomes, ecotourism is a viable alternative livelihood,” he said.

Director Theresa Mundita Lim of the Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said the latest discovery is yet another reason to strengthen integrated coastal management in the area where they have been found.

“These dolphins live near the coasts so it is important that coastal communities in the area are aware of their importance and that they should avoid unsustainable land-use activities that could impact on the shores,” Lim told the BusinessMirror in an interview.

This means that the local government should also work to prevent land-based pollution and unsustainable land development that could cause siltation and adversely affect the river system.

“Partnership and awareness raising would be good activities to start with to protect this population,” Lim said.

The group of at least 20 Irrawaddy dolphins, locally known in Palawan as lampasut, was spotted by chance in Quezon, Palawan, along the coastline of the West Philippine Sea.

The pod of rare marine mammalswas displaying typical behavior, foraging for prey around lift net fish traps sitting approximately 1 kilometer offshore, WWF-Philippines said in a press statement.

According to WWF-Philippines, previous populations of these dolphins have been documented in Malampaya Sound, as well as off the island of Panay by another WWF-Philippines team led by Dr. Louella Dolar.

Jonathan L. Mayuga