Tuesday 18 January 2011

Fishing nets claim third sea creature

Published: 19/01/2011 at 12:00 AM

Another dolphin has washed up dead on the Gulf of Thailand coast.

It is the third marine creature believed to have drowned in fishing nets in the past two days, officials said.

The body of the young Irrawaddy dolphin was found on a beach in front of a resort in Sam Roi Yot district of Prachuap Khiri Khan yesterday morning. The 1.2-metre-long mammal's body bore deep cuts believed to have been caused by a fishing net.

Local fishery official Chaiya Daotoon said the dolphin had probably died on Monday.

He said the bodies of two other rare sea creatures had come ashore in nearby Chumphon in the past two days.

A 2.3-metre-long hump-backed dolphin was found dead on Monday on Thung Wua Laen beach in Pathiu district of Chumphon and a dead green sea turtle with a 58-centimetre-wide shell was found on Sai Ree beach in Muang district of the same province.

Nipawan Busarawit, director of the Chumphon-based Marine and Coastal Resources Research Centre for the central Gulf of Thailand, said it was common for dead marine animals to come ashore in Chumphon and nearby provinces at this time of year. Six dead dolphins and four dead green sea turtles have washed ashore since November.

Nearly 20 dolphins and green sea turtles were found dead last year. Some were killed by fish nets and intestinal infections. Others bore no trace of damage and officials have not established the cause of their death.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/217056/fishing-nets-claim-third-sea-creature

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