Illegal Fishing Causes River Dolphins to Have No Food to Eat
Between 2012 and 2014, the Institute of Hydrobiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences conducted a large number of dolphin mortalities, and found that the stomachs were almost empty, with only a few bones and scraps remaining. There were many non-normal deaths of river dolphins every year, of which a large part were hit by ship propellers, and young dolphins were mostly involved, as they often lacked sufficient survival experience, and the cost of trial and error was too high.
A dolphin leaping out of the water
Drowned river dolphins in natural waters generally have food residue in their stomachs, and autopsy cases are very rare. Moreover, the individuals dissected were obviously thinner than dolphins in the protected area. Could it be that the hunting ability of young dolphins is not strong, which leads to hunger? However, as the researchers investigated more deeply, they discovered a surprising result.
Researchers discovered an anomaly during fieldwork. Although river dolphins are not as solitary as white dolphins and avoid crowds, they are more like neighborhood girls, full of curiosity, and sometimes approach human activity areas. However, experienced dolphins will be aware of avoiding ship propellers, especially busy docks, and will stay away. But the survey results in recent years have surprised people.
Death stranded dolphins
Researchers found through sonar detection that docks often have dolphins active. Their activity is very regular: they stay away when ships enter and leave, and return when the ships dock or leave. This phenomenon is not an isolated case, but a common phenomenon. Because they frequently enter these 'high-risk' areas, the dolphins' non-normal deaths are inevitable. In addition, some fishermen have a disdain for dolphins, believing they steal their food, and some extreme fishermen will still harm dolphins.
River dolphins found on the riverbank
Subsequently, research confirmed that dolphins venture onto docks for food.Food shortage is a serious problem facing river dolphins in the natural environment. This is something we have overlooked. Because docks are often where people dump food, they have become gathering places for fish, and river dolphins, with little food, can only risk approaching docks to forage. The scarcity of fisheries resources in the Yangtze River has been evident for many years, and the malnutrition of river dolphins has become an indicator.Not all dolphins are lucky enough to live in protected areas. The barbaric illegal fishing has made these top predators suffer a lot. Especially the appalling electrofishing. In 2012, in Dongting Lake, a group of illegal fishermen frantically electrofished, and in one night, they could catch hundreds of kilograms, big or small, using a concrete ship to transport them, selling the big ones for meat and the small ones as feed. And this is just a case. Even the vast Yangtze River cannot withstand such madness fishing.
Seized electrofishing equipment
Various electrofishing equipment seized by protection personnel are piled up every few periods. Various sizes of batteries are these inconspicuous devices, which are the ultimate killer for fish. Some voltages are particularly high, hung on the bottom of the ship, can sweep a large area, followed by a boat rising up, the harvest for one night varies from hundreds of kilograms to several thousand kilograms.
Not only dolphins' food is consumed by such illegal fishing, but many dolphins are also injured and killed by these electrofishing.Such situations, especially after the implementation of the ten-year ban on fishing, are gradually changing.
Many official and non-official ecological protection NGOs are established and they start to recruit local fishermen who have retired from fishing to join the local water area patrol.Although China has vast freshwater water areas, it is difficult to cover them all. As the ban continues to be enforced, with the participation of various organizations, the phenomenon of insufficient supervision will inevitably be greatly alleviated, which is crucial for the recovery of fisheries resources in natural water areas.Water patrol teams are in law enforcement
As the only mammal in the Yangtze River, river dolphins are luckier than white dolphins. Although in 2012, there were only 1045 heads, because of proper protection measures, in the 2017 census, they maintained this level and did not continue to drop off the cliff. Having nothing to eat is just a threat, environmental pollution, shipping, excavation, and dams all threaten these creatures. The ten-year ban on fishing is just beginning, and it is unknown whether it will bring a turning point to the fate of river dolphins and other aquatic life.
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