Another dolphin has died in Kratie province after it was caught in a longline fishing hook, indicating an increasingly alarming situation and the need for intensive law enforcement to be urgently conducted in the dolphin habitats.

WWF said in a statement that the dead dolphin was discovered on December 24 around Koh Trung, about 10 km downstream from Kampi pool in Kratie province.

The team from WWF and Kratie Fisheries Administration confirmed signs of a longline fishing hook wrapped around the dolphin’s body, fluke and flipper. The dead dolphin was an adult female of 196 cm long, aged between seven- and 10-years-old, and weighing about 93kg.

“This was the third healthy dolphin that died within just a seven-day period, indicating an increasingly alarming situation and the need for intensive law enforcement to be urgently conducted in the dolphin habitats,” the WWF said.

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Eleven dolphins have died in 2022 (as of 24 December 2022), bringing the total number of dead dolphins to 29 in the last three years, according to the WWF.

In renewing its call-to-action in the face of this unprecedented mortality, WWF strongly urged a mobilization of law enforcement to be urgently organized to increase both day and night patrols, in order to protect the remaining dolphins from being killed by illegal fishing in the conservation areas.

“The recent increase in illegal fishing activities in the dolphin conservation areas will cause the extirpation of the Mekong River dolphin in Cambodia if action to stop these activities are not taken immediately,” said Seng Teak, WWF-Cambodia Country Director.

“These tragic and preventable deaths of three healthy breeding aged dolphins within less than 10 days should send a clear message to all responsible levels of authorities, that the time is now to step up the law enforcement presence in all critical dolphin habitats,” he added.

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Teak said that there are no other options except to immediately implement strict law enforcement to crackdown on all types of illegal activities in the areas where dolphins live, adding that, to stop these activities, river-guards and law enforcement officers need to be active 24/7, conducting both day and night patrols in the dolphin zones.

In addition to the patrolling effort, severe penalties should be issued against the perpetrators of illegal fishing or other fishery crimes committed in the dolphin conservation zones in order to deter others from continuing these illegal activities, he said.

“If this crisis continues, the entire population will be lost in the near future,” Teak said.