PHUKET: A young dolphin, the symbol of hope for the Phuket region's marine life, died late yesterday trapped in a fishing net.
The dolphin's death came as a shock for experts from the Phuket Marine Biological Centre who had nurtured the two-year-old male back to health.
It also signalled how great the challenge is to strike a balance between fishing, tourism and nature on Thailand's holiday tropical islands.
The dolphin, separated from its mother and pod, had been washed onto Phuket's Karon beach on November 16.
After a week of recovery at the biological centre on Phuket's Cape Panwa, the dolphin was released off Phi Phi.
For three weeks, everything appeared to be going well. Flagged buoys marked an area that was the dolphin's own territory off Ao Lo Dalam, on Phi Phi.
Local boatmen and residents were asked to look out for the small dolphin, who had grown accustomed to being fed by humans and frolocking in the water with his carers.
Efforts were being made to trace his pod, and perhaps organise a reunion. In case that was not possible, the alternative - a safe future in a large aquarium - was also being considered.
Phi Phi was chosen for the dolphin's release because there is less boat traffic, less chance of being struck by a propeller, less chance of being caught in a net . . .
Yesterday the dolphin drowned when it became enmeshed in a fishing net. Its body was being brought back from Phi Phi for an examination and an autopsy today.
The death of the young dolphin marked a year in which the toll of marine creatures around the Andaman continued to rise: whales, dugongs, dolphins, turtles have all perished in greater numbers.
If the young dolphin leaves a legacy, it will be a greater understanding of the difficulty in commercialising the natural world without causing everlasting havoc.
The dolphin's death came as a shock for experts from the Phuket Marine Biological Centre who had nurtured the two-year-old male back to health.
It also signalled how great the challenge is to strike a balance between fishing, tourism and nature on Thailand's holiday tropical islands.
The dolphin, separated from its mother and pod, had been washed onto Phuket's Karon beach on November 16.
After a week of recovery at the biological centre on Phuket's Cape Panwa, the dolphin was released off Phi Phi.
For three weeks, everything appeared to be going well. Flagged buoys marked an area that was the dolphin's own territory off Ao Lo Dalam, on Phi Phi.
Local boatmen and residents were asked to look out for the small dolphin, who had grown accustomed to being fed by humans and frolocking in the water with his carers.
Efforts were being made to trace his pod, and perhaps organise a reunion. In case that was not possible, the alternative - a safe future in a large aquarium - was also being considered.
Phi Phi was chosen for the dolphin's release because there is less boat traffic, less chance of being struck by a propeller, less chance of being caught in a net . . .
Yesterday the dolphin drowned when it became enmeshed in a fishing net. Its body was being brought back from Phi Phi for an examination and an autopsy today.
The death of the young dolphin marked a year in which the toll of marine creatures around the Andaman continued to rise: whales, dugongs, dolphins, turtles have all perished in greater numbers.
If the young dolphin leaves a legacy, it will be a greater understanding of the difficulty in commercialising the natural world without causing everlasting havoc.
Tragic and avoidable..Phi Phi is the most dangerous place in the Andaman sea to have put this poor creature...
Posted by El Capitan on December 18, 2012 09:28