Dolphin whisperer U Aung Thinn taps a hand-carved stick on the side of his slender boat and patiently waits. As he spots the dolphins’ grey arches gracefully moving towards him, he gathers his fishing equipment.
One of the dolphins flicks its tail out of the water, sending the signal for Thinn to cast his net. The mammals corral fish towards the boat. As the fish swarm into the net, the dolphins devour the inevitable overspill.
However, like the dolphins, the future of Myanmar’s cooperative fishing is under threat.
“It’s difficult to learn, and the younger generation do not want to do it now; fishing is becoming harder and it’s not economically viable,” says Paul Eshoo, project adviser for Living Irrawaddy Dolphin Project. “Cheaper nets and fishing equipment make that form of fishing more efficient.”
In a bid to save the Irrawaddy dolphins while providing additional income for cooperative fishing communities, last year Eshoo joined forces with local tour company Living Irrawaddy Travel to launch Living Irrawaddy Dolphin Project.
The social business runs one- to three-day trips from Mandalay into the heart of rural Myanmar. All profits are ploughed back into the seven cooperative fishing communities the company works with, and towards protecting the dolphins.
One conservation project sees Living Irrawaddy Dolphin Project rent part of the Irrawaddy River, where it enforces strict regulations and hires villagers to patrol the waters for illegal fishing.
“The whole river was being developed for fishing contracts where people can bid to rent parts of it,” says Eshoo. “This incentivises overfishing and the use of illegal fishing methods, so we invested in a main area where the dolphins are, to protect it.”
Read the full article at South China Morning Post: https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3037565/fishermens-friends-dolphins-under-threat-myanmar-eco-tour?mc_cid=6569f89d80&mc_eid=fe1fae2960
