Assam fishermen successfully test alternative to dolphin oil

Guwahati, June 3 – In an effort to help the campaign to save the highly endangered Gangetic dolphins in the Brahmaputra and its tributaries, the city based Centre for North East Studies and Policy Research (C-NES) has initiated a process of training for local fishermen on alternative fish bait to dolphin oil.

A team of four fishermen from Dhubri traveled to Patna Science College, Patna University, for training on the alternative oil prepared from fish viscera, which is used as bait to catch the Naariah fish ( Clupisoma garua). Not only that but they also have successfully tested the new method at Dhubri ghat upon return.

C-NES is working in three districts of Assam – Tinsukia, Kamrup and Dhubri – 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.

“If this can be spread extensively, it can play a major role in conserving the dolphin, one of Assam’s most beloved creatures, which are trapped in gill nets and also poached,” said Sanjoy Hazarika, C-NES Managing Trustee.

The oil has been developed by the eminent scientist and conservationist, Prof. R.K. Sinha and his team at Patna University, to reduce killings of dolphins who are hunted for their blubber, which is then used as fish bait in Assam and Bihar. The extract from fish viscera (petu) oil is being extensively used as alternative to Dolphin oil by the fisherman of Bihar in the Ganges. Prof. Sinha is one of the top international specialists in the field of eco- biology and conservation of freshwater dolphins in the Ganges river system and is a member of the Catacean Specialist Group (IUCN).

One of Prof. Sinha’s studies on the threat to the dolphins, has highlighted the fact that the dolphins, one of the most graceful and friendly creatures on earth, are killed mainly for extraction of oil for its fat content. Killing a dolphin or being in possession of any part of the creature is punishable under law with both a prison term and fines. The dolphin oil when released in the river attracts Naariah fish in large numbers.

The fishermen from Dhubri, who previously used dolphin oil to catch fish, say that “the alternative oil is as effective as the dolphin oil and there is no need to use dolphin oil for fishing.” A demonstration cum training is being organized by the C-NES team in Dhubri on World Environment Day, June 5.