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Fishermen’s friends: dolphins under threat in Myanmar, but eco-tour group works to save them

  • Dolphins that work with fishermen on the Irrawaddy River are threatened by overfishing
  • An ecologist and a tour group are working to assure the survival of the critically endangered mammals and the fishermen’s livelihoods

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Dolphins and fishermen work together in Myanmar’s Irrawaddy River, where the marine mammals are under threat from overfishing. U Aung Thinn (above) has been practising this form of cooperative fishing since the age of 12.
Marissa Carruthers

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.

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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.

“The big difference is the fish population,” says 51-year-old Thinn. When he started fishing at the age of 12, his hauls were much heavier. “It’s difficult to compete with electrofishing now, and some people have to work in other jobs to make a living.”
U Aung Thinn has been cooperative fishing since the age of 12.
U Aung Thinn has been cooperative fishing since the age of 12.
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Thinn is one of about 60 remaining cooperative fishermen who work alongside the small pocket of Irrawaddy dolphins along this stretch of the Irrawaddy River close to Mandalay. The latest WWF count in February recorded 76 dolphins in Myanmar, where they are classified as critically endangered by the IUCN. Worldwide, they are also classified as endangered, with only about 3,000 of the species estimated to remain.
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