Rare Pink dolphin population nears extinction
Pastor Dale Morgan
Rare Pink dolphin population nears extinction *
20 Nov 2006 08:33:45 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Ralph Jennings
TAIPEI, Nov 20 (Reuters) - A dolphin that lives along the west coast of
Taiwan is declining to dangerously low numbers because of over-fishing
and pollution, local environmental researchers said on Monday.
The number of pink Pacific humpback dolphins had declined off Taiwan
over the past three years to an estimated 120, the Formosa Cetus
Research and Conservation Group and the Wild at Heart Legal Defence
Association found after three years of study.
Illegal fishing is netting dolphins for high-end meals in central
Taiwan, the two groups suspect. They say untreated wastewater from a
reservoir plus hundreds of coastal factories are killing off small
estuary fish that draw dolphins to the Taiwan coast.
"The population is very small and therefore predisposed to being
vulnerable to any form of exploitation -- direct, indirect, intentional
or unintentional," said John Wang, co-founder of the conservation group.
"Given the state of western Taiwan and the continuing destruction with
little to no mitigation of existing serious threats, population size can
only decrease."
Pink dolphins are also found in small populations off the coast of
China, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Hong Kong Dolphinwatch has been
working since 1995 to increase the public awareness of their plight.
The total population remains a mystery although researchers in Hong Kong
say pink dolphins are common in the Pearl River Delta, where they number
about 1,200.
Due to a lack of research, there is no way to know what the Taiwan
dolphin population was in 2002, but the ocean was generally healthier
then, said Yang Shih-chu, a director with the conservation group, which
works with the National Museum of Marine Biology in Pingtung County.
In 1996, police and Taiwan's Council of Agriculture found about 10,540
kg of meat from the legally protected species in two southern counties.
Dolphin fried with ginger still turns up in restaurants of west-central
Taiwan.