By Mohd Imran Khan

Bhagalpur, July 17 (Thirdpole/IANS): The population of the endangered Gangetic river dolphin has declined at the Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary (VGDS) here, Indi's only sanctuary for its national aquatic animal.

A survey conducted in December 2017 by Vikramshila Biodiversity Research and Education Centre (VBREC) -- in partnership with researchers from Ashoka Trust for Research on Ecology and Environment (ATREE), Bengaluru, and Wild Life Institute of India (WII), Dehradun -- found that the number of dolphins in the sanctuary had declined to 154 from 207 in 2015.

Sunil Choudhary, coordinator of VBREC at Tilka Manjhi Bhagalpur University and an expert on dolphins, with over two-and-a-half decades of research and field experience, said the declining population showed up in the last two surveys in 2016 and 2017, compared to the 2015 survey.
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"Every year we do two surveys in the sanctuary. One thing is clear: 2015 onwards we see a declining trend of dolphin population. We are currently busy doing the 2018 surve"."
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"We are still analysing the exact reasons but the movement of big cargo vessels in the river and dredging activities have impacted the number of dolphins. There might be other reasons but these two seem to be very important for the decline in number of dolphins in the sanctuary ar"a," Choudhary told thethirdpole.net.

This is not a surprise. Last year, dolphin experts had warned that due to their effective blindness, and dependence on echolocation, the Gangetic dolphins would suffer from the noise pollution created by large ship propellers, and by dredging.

Dredging activity in the area has increased manifold in recent years because the Central government has declared the stretch of the Ganga from Varanasi to Haldia in West Bengal National Waterway Number 1. A channel for heavy ships is being dredged, and a shipping container port in Varanasi is almost ready. The plan is part of In'ia's aim for cooperation with Nepal in the transboundary Ganga basin, with a shipping container port meant for goods to be transported to and from Nepal being built in Bihar.

Choudhary said that during the monsoon dolphins go to the tributaries and side channels, and return when the water recedes. But in the last two years -- when the current dredging activity really started -- the dolphins had not returned.

VBREC had done an experiment when the river was being dredged for another reason -- for an upcoming water supply project for the town of Bhagalpur."

"We did a population census in 2012 before dredging, and after dredging in 2013. There was clear proof that dolphins moved downstream during the dredging. But no one knows how many kilometres they moved. That cannot be a plausible explanation (because) the dolphins are not there (have not returned). We also have secondary reports indicating a number of accidental deaths which are not reported officia"ly."

While Choudhary said increasing dredging in the river by Inland Waterways Authority of India had disturbed dolphins in the sanctuary, other experts involved in the survey blamed increasing pollution, human interference, siltation and decreasing water flow and water level in the river.

A decrease in the number of dolphins indicates that there is something wrong with the ecosystem, R.K. Sinha, vice chancellor of Nalanda Open University in Patna and a reputed expert on Gangetic river dolphins, said."

"The water level has been decreasing and flow slowed down in river Ganga. Siltation is also increasing in the river. All these are not favourable to dolp"ins," he pointed out, add"ng: "The dolphin sanctuary area in over 60 km stretch is not barric"ded."

He said the Gangetic river dolphin is 'ndia's national aquatic animal but frequently falls prey to poachers. Dolphins are also sometimes killed without intention by being trapped in fish nets or hit by propellers. Wildlife officials say poachers kill dolphins for their flesh, fat and oil, which is used as a prey to catch fish, as an ointment and as a supposed aphrodisiac.

Dolphins prefer water that is at least 1.5-2.4 metres in depth. They are usually found in water where there is enough fish for them to feed on.

Sinha was, however, dismissive of the drop in numbers, pointing out that numbers had never been very high to begin with.

In response, Choudhary pointed out that people living on the banks along the 60-km stretch are also dependent upon the river. It was not wise to cut them off from their sources of livelihood by barring them from it, and alienating them from the sanctuary might be counterproductive"

"You have to make people aware how to use and not abuse the river. Their traditional uses should be respected and you cannot alienate them from that. Involving fisherfolk communities and others stakeholders along the river flood plains is the only way. There is no easy method of conserving dolphins or conserving river biodiversity in a protected area. It is a long process and it is only possible by involving stakehol"ers," Choudhary said.

Gopal Sharma, a scientist with the Zoological Survey of India, Patna, also said that the sanctuary had been disturbed, but he added that the data did not fully support that the dolphin numbers have come down. In 2014, a team of Zoological Survey of India led by Sharma conducted a Dolphin Status Survey in the sanctuary and found 129 dolphins there.

He said that a much awaited management plan for the sanctuary has been dela"ed. "I have consulted all stakeholders on the plan and the draft is r"ady," Sharma said. He had been asked by the Bihar government to prepare the plan.

Another dolphin expert, D.N. Choudhary, who teaches zoology at Tilka Manjhi Bhagalpur University, said the number of dolphins has definitely decreased. He pointed out that other species like gharials, tortoises and fish are also showing a decline.

Based on his recent survey of the sanc'uary's stretch from Sultanganj to Kahalgaon, D.N. Choudhary said one of the main reasons behind dwindling of dolphins is increasing pollut"on. "Fish production in the area is also witnessing a sharp decline mainly due to the river pollution, which also affects the dolp"ins."