The pink dolphins of the Amazon are being threatened with extinction as fishermen kill them to use their flesh as bait. A pair of Boto, or Amazon river dolphins in Rio Negro, Amazonia, Brazil. Poaching by fishermen threatens them with extinction. Photo: Kevin Schafer / Barcroft

By Harriet Alexander and Rebecca Lefort
Published: 4:07PM BST 24 Jul 2010 Scientists believe that 1,500 dolphins are being killed annually in the western Amazon to fuel a lucrative trade in catfish, which feeds on dead animals. “The population of the river dolphins will collapse if these fishermen are not stopped from killing them,” said Vera da Silva, the top aquatic mammals expert at the government’s Institute of Amazonian Research. “We’ve been studying an area of 27,000 acres for 17 years, and of late the population is dropping seven per cent each year.” The dolphins, which can be eight feet long and weigh the same amount as an adult man, are the largest of four species known to exist in South America and Asia. The cause of their pinkish hue is debated, with some scientists saying it is due to blood vessels being close to the skin and others citing scarring as the reason for their colouring. Killing dolphins is illegal in Brazil, and punishable by a year and a half in prison. But enforcement of the law is almost impossible. Less than five agents are tasked with protecting wildlife in a jungle region covering the western two-thirds of Amazonas state, which is more than twice the size of Texas. And given the financial incentive, it seems that it is a crime worth committing. From the flesh of one carcase, fishermen can catch up to 500 kilograms of the catfish known as piracatinga. They can sell the piracatinga for 30 pence per kilogram, translating into £300 for two nights’ work – about double Brazil’s monthly minimum wage. “This is a developing problem over the last few years which we’re extremely worried about,” said Mark Simmonds, the director of science for the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society. “All the river dolphins in the various river systems are very vulnerable. The Chinese river dolphin is functionally extinct, and with human populations spreading out into the Amazon we fear the Amazon river dolphin will go the same way. “This is a serious threat and needs urgent action.” But the Brazilian government has so far proved unable to halt the killing. …

Amazon river dolphins threatened with extinction