Wildlife Conservation Trust

Endangered Ganges River Dolphins continue to face the threat of accidental entanglement and mortality in fishing nets, also called bycatch. Yet, the extent of bycatch mortality and its impacts on river dolphin populations are poorly known. This is because: 1) fishers avoid reporting cases fearing legal hassles, 2) most fishers are poor, so penalties imposed in reaction to illegal activities of a few can deprive the entire community of livelihood, and 3) the high value of dolphin oil in illegal trade lures fishers to partake in it.

Wildlife Conservation Trust

In this context, our project aims to develop and implement novel approaches to detect, prevent, and minimize bycatch and oil use, through 1) fishery surveys and visual detection and anti-poaching tools, 2) ‘geo-fencing’ technology to tag fishing boats to prevent gillnets in dolphin hotspots, and 3) arrangements for dialogue and incentivization of fishers to abandon illegal practices involving dolphin oil use.

*This grant was made possible in partnership with the Charities Aid Foundation, who served as the grant maker.