Another carcass of the endangered Indus blind dolphin was found floating in the river near the Bunder Wall area of Sukkur city on Sunday evening, thus becoming the 14th dead dolphin discovered in the province since January. Dolphin deaths continue in the province despite enjoying protected status: the River Indus, from Guddu Barrage to Sukkur Barrage, is part of the protected Indus Blind Dolphin Reserve. The sanctuary was established under the Sindh Wildlife Ordinance, while the international Ramsar Convention also provides protection to the endangered mammal.
But some eight dolphins were found dead in different locations in Sindh in the wake of the historic floods of 2010, with several dolphins slipping downstream into the canals. This subsequently sparked a joint drive by the Sindh Wildlife Department and WWF-Pakistan to ascertain the remaining number of protected mammals. Despite a number of surveys, all efforts at establishing a dolphin count have thus far come to nought while the actual reasons behind the deaths of these dolphins remain shrouded in mystery.
Conservationists argue, however, that the reported use of poison for fishing by local fishermen is one of the primary reasons for dolphins in the Indus being killed. Despite the Indus Blind Dolphin Reserve being protected by national and international covenants, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)-led government has been issuing ‘Benazir Card for Fishermen’ – a card worth Rs 100, but gives fisherfolk the license to fish in protected areas.
“Because the contract system in fisheries was abolished in Sindh last January, fisherfolk have been getting these special permits (Benazir Cards), and in turn, they are have started using poison in this protected area. Many dolphins fall prey to this poison,” Sindh Wildlife Department-Sukkur Deputy Conservator Taj Muhammad Shaikh told Pakistan Today. “Because of the worsening law-and-order situation in katcha areas on either side of the river, wildlife staff is unable to guard the protected dolphin reserve,” he said.
Sindh Wildlife Department Provincial Conservator Saeed Akhtar Baloch also backed Shaikh’s narrative, but argued that there are more reasons behind the killings of dolphins. “We cannot attribute a single reason to the killings of these dolphins; there are many reasons, such as reduced flows in the River Indus, pouring of highly contaminated industrial waste into the river, and of course, local fishermen using poison for fishing purposes,” he said.
WWF-Pakistan’s Indus for All Programme Director Rab Nawaz had another explanation: Nawaz claimed that the main reason for the decline of the Indus River dolphin was the construction of numerous dams and barrages – a process which started in the 1930s As a result of these constructions, dolphin populations were split into small groups, their habitat degraded and migration impeded.
Nawaz explained that the Indus dolphin used to be common and distributed throughout the 3,500 km (2,200 miles) of the River Indus system in Pakistan. It was found from the Himalayan foothills to the mouth of the Indus, and in the main tributaries from the hills to their junction with the Indus. “By the early 1970’s, its range had declined drastically to less than 700 km (430 mi) of river length and the majority of the remaining population lived between the Sukkur and Guddu barrages in Sindh.
“By catch is main reason during which these dolphins get stuck into fishing nets for extended hours and drown. The dumping of domestic and industrial waste into the Indus and pouring of pesticides and fertilizer-contaminated agricultural effluents are other explanations for why dolphins are being killed,” Nawaz claimed.
