Alternative bait as latest strategy to save Gangetic dolphins

Guwahati, June 4 (UNI) The campaign to save the highly endangered Gangetic dolphins in the Brahmaputra river system in Asom has got a major boost with the introduction of an alternative fish bait to dolphin oil for the first time in the state.

A training programme has been initiated by the city-based Centre for North East Studies and Policy Research (C-NES) at Patna Science College for fishermen from Asom on the use of the alternative oil.

The first batch of four fishermen from Dhubri have already returned from Patna after undertaking the training and tested the alternative bait successfully at Dhubri ghat.

C-NES trustee Sanjoy Hazarika said, ''If this can be spread extensively, it can play a major role in conserving the dolphins.'' The alternative oil, prepared from fish viscera, which is used as a bait to catch the Nariaah fish (Clupisoma garua), had been developed by eminent scientist and conservationist Prof R K Sinha and his team at Patna University.

Prof Sinha's studies have shown that dolphins are mainly hunted for their blubber, which is then used as fish bait in Asom and Bihar.

Commenting on the performance of the alternative oil, the Dhubri fishermen said, ''It is as effective as dolphin oil and there is no need for use of dolphin oil now.'' C-NES is working in three districts of Asom to develop a community-based campaign that includes local groups in the conservation process, provide an alternative to the poaching of the endangered species (there are not more than 268 dolphins in the Brahmaputra river system) and encourage green tourism, involving village communities.

UNI