A network for conserving dolphins is going to be formed with the purpose of gearing up conservation of dolphins, said Maung Maung Oo of Nature Green Group.

“We have worked for conservation of dolphins for two years. We met with fishery workers and the responsible persons from the villages. We held talks on conservation of dolphins. All are eager to conserve dolphins, but in reality they are weak in carrying out conservation tasks. 

“Some groups think that they would take foreign financial assistance by conserving dolphins and they would get big ships to watch dolphins and then would open offices. These groups only think of showing dolphins to foreigners. But they are weak in conservation of dolphins. I don’t mean to blame. There is a global form of conserving dolphins by the community. 

“The dolphins should be conserved with the cooperation of the villages, the fishery workers and CSOs. To be able to do so, a conservation network should be formed,” said Maung Maung Oo.

Effective measures in number of dolphins, growth and birth rate must be carried out within 30 miles of dolphin conservation zone. If measures are ineffective, conservation area to Bhamo does not need to be expanded, said Maung Maung Oo.

 “It is required to present reports if dolphins sustain injury. Educative talks should be conducted. In doing so, we aim at forming the network,” said Maung Maung Oo.

We agreed to form the dolphin conservation network in principles after holding discussions during November. We will make field trips to the villages during December. The network can be formed early 2019, said Maung Maung Oo.

“It is difficult to say the exact number of dolphins. The number of dolphins is different. It is sure that there are more than 70 dolphins,” said Maung Maung Oo.

There has been a remarkable increase in the number of dolphins two to three months after Nargis storm. It is required to restrict fish catch in different periods within the 30-mile radius area, said Maung Maung Oo.

Translated and Edited by Win Htut