World Journal of Fish and Marine Sciences 8 (1): 68-73, 2016
ISSN 2078-4589
© IDOSI Publications, 2016
DOI: 10.5829/idosi.wjfms.2016.8.1.92157
Conservation of Indus River Dolphin in Pakistan: A Review
Rabail Urooj, Khanorangah Achakzai, Sana Zulfiqar and Asma Jabeen
Department of Environmental Sciences, Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan
Abstract: Present review paper highlighted the current status of endangered Indus River Dolphin specie in
Pakistan. Different addressed and non-addressed threats to the Indus Dolphin has discussed under wide
spectrum. WWF and SWD are two main bodies which are involve in conservation and regulation of Dolphin
population in Indus River. Different standard methods for population estimation are using by concerning
departments for data records, since 2000. Though, the problems are solved by the conservation efforts of these
departments to some extent. But still there are so many other factors, which might be responsible for declining
in its population in coming future, need to be address.
Key words: Indus Dolphin
Climate
Parameters
WWF
INTRODUCTION
Fragmentation
same species due to close resemblance in structure [10].
This conflict could be only clarified by using some
modern molecular sequencing techniques. Until and
unless the genetic makeup of these both species is
not identified, it would be difficult to classify the species
on specie level. Currently most organizations have
identified it as single species (Platanista) with two
subgroups: the Platanista gangetics gangatics of India
and Platanista gangetica minor of Pakistan [3, 11, 12].
The main reason behind failure of detail comprehensive
taxonomic study is the political conflict between two
countries.
History revealed that in 18th and 19 th century, journals
were highlighting the hunting list of different fauna by
British officers. This list was never included the Indus
dolphin, apparently targeted by hunters in Indo-Pakistan
sub continents [13]. But some published research studies
indicated that Indus dolphins were hunted for the sake of
food and oil by indigenous people for several centuries
[9, 14-16]. It has been reported that in the mid-eighteen
century indigenous people were used to catch dolphin
with the help of trained otters in shallow water at the point
of Sukkar [17]. Similarly, in 1915 another study described
in detail the method of dolphin capturing by using trained
otter. People constructed a platform in shallow water and
attached a fish with stake and releases otter to produce
sound. Upon response to sound dolphin come closer to
stake and hunters cast their net over dolphin and capture
it [18, 19].
The Indus river dolphin (Platanista gangetica
minor) locally known as “Bhulan” and “Blind River
Dolphin”, is one of fresh water dolphin [1-3]. This unique
specie is endemic to Indus region of Pakistan, listed as the
most threatened endangered species in Red list of IUCN
[4]. Historical records found that Indus Dolphin was
present in entire Indus river in past, but now due to the
habitat fragmentation, its population is divided into
various subpopulation on basis of Indus river tributaries.
Presently, Indus Dolphin is existing within 1000km stretch
of river [5]. The Indus river dolphin is fresh water mammal
as it feed its young ones with milk, comes out of water for
breathing like mammals. Its shows some unique
characteristic; side swimming, echochelation and carrying
of its offspring’s on its back are the behavior which are
not shown by any other fresh water species of dolphin
[6]. However Indus dolphin is considered one of the most
similar species to Ganges river dolphins. Due to very
close morphological resemblance in both species, its
classification always remains a matter of conflict among
scientist [7]. Until 1970 the Indus and Ganges river
dolphins were suggested as single species. But in early
1970 its classification was reverted on the basis of some
dissimilarity, these two species were regarded as two
totally different species [8, 9]. Validation of existing
classification was questioned in 1998 which then replaced
by pre 1970’s classification, which depicting that both are
Corresponding Author: Rabail Urooj, Department of Environmental Sciences, Fatima Jinnah Women University,
Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Cell: +92 345 5276713.
68
World J. Fish & Marine Sci., 8 (1): 68-73, 2016
Different international organizations like World
Wild Fund for Nature (WWF); Whale and dolphin
conservation society (WDCS); United Nation
Development Program (UNDP) along with Sindh and
Punjab Wildlife Departments are working for Indus
Dolphin Conservation. Up to January, 2015, three surveys
were conducted by WWF by five years interval since
2001 [20-22]. Photo identification and distance sampling
are the methods not used for capturing Indus Dolphin
because it leads to less precision and accuracy [23-28].
In 2005, researcher used Mark recapture method for Indus
Dolphin sampling [29]. This method was also followed by
many researchers for sampling of different animals and
plants [30-32].
Smith et al. [33] studied two different species of
Indus Dolphin in order to evaluate and assess their status
across the existing rivers in Bangladesh by using
concurrent counts method. One was Irrawady Dolphin
(Orcaella brevirostris) and other is Ganges River Dolphin
(Plantanista gangetica gangetica). Further insight in this
work revealed that this method leads to inaccuracy and
very less precision. Limitation of this research work was
requirement of an independent team for survey and
resulted in lot of personal errors. This work was confined
to probability and estimation. According to the
recommended guidelines by Burnham and Anderson in
2002, different models were also selected using Akaike’s
information method for small sample sizes populations
[34, 35]. To account for uncertainty in model selection, if
the best fitting models were separated by less than 2 AIC
(Akaike’s Information Criterion) points, the population
size is usually averaged on the basis of their normalized
AIC weights [36]. Researcher worked in 2011 on
identification of Indus Dolphin on basis of genetic
variability. But this research is in process, it may be
lending a hand towards reason behind Indus Dolphin
abundance in Guddu to Sukhur Barrage [16].
The decline in number of Indus dolphin has been
recorded since last few years [2, 3, 37]. The most
prominent threats in current era to the species are high
load of pollution, Pesticides flow in to Indus River and
habitat fragmentation [38-44]. Another key issue is
unsustainable fishing practices which are also imposing
stress on Indus dolphin particularly the use of illegal nets
for fishing. Sometime species is accidently trapped into
the fishing nets. Illegal fishing is usually carrying out at
night time, when fisherman laid down their nets into river
then Dolphin also get trapped which oftenly not rescued
by the fisherman and killed illegally and dumped
somewhere around the bank of river [45].
Indus River Dolphin is categorized most endangered
species in Pakistan since 1976 under the Appendix I of
CITIES and protected animal according to wildlife
legislation at provincial level under category of high
protection enlisted in Schedule III [2, 46-49].
When Indus dolphin declared protected species in
early 1970 under Punjab, KPK and Sindh Wildlife Act then
within few years legal prosecution ceased hunting in
Sindh and population of dolphin began to show
increase in number [50]. Whereas another step taken by
government was that area of 190km between Sukkar and
Guddu barrage where maximum dolphin population living,
was declared as Indus Dolphin Reserve in 1974.
After banning hunting of Indus dolphin, another
present facing challenge is to protect this specie from
pollution [51]. According to Directorate of Land
Reclamation Punjab, only 8% wastewater is treated and
remaining waste water run in to main water streams [52].
For instance, this untreated water from industries pollute
the bank of Indus River water and cause baits deaths in
massive quantity, which ultimately effect dolphin number,
because supply food (fish) for dolphin decline due to
pollution. Along untreated water, pesticides from nearby
agricultural farming also pollute the river bank. By keeping
view this problem, WWF and Sindh Agriculture Extension
Department (SAED) reduced pollution in Indus River by
providing improving agricultural practices and building
carrying capacity of local people [53].
Habitat of Indus dolphin was fragmented by
constructing barrages and dam, that’s why in lower part
of Indus River Dolphins are no longer present because in
every year downstream water channel get dries up due to
water extraction [39, 54-56]. While it has been observed by
researchers that some dolphins which go downstream
were unable to swim back upstream due to barrages and
strong water waves current. Some time when dolphin was
stuck in irrigation canals, it went unreported in past and
Dolphin die without being rescued. But now since 2000
Sindh Wildlife Department and WWF educated local
people and built community based rescue team which are
engaged in rescuing dolphin from irrigation canals which
spread over 37 thousand miles area.
Still problem of Indus dolphin decreasing number is
intensified by Climate Change (CC) in current era. For
instance, in August 2011 extreme flooding was came in
Indus River basin caused death of Dolphins and after
flooding researchers found many skeleton of Indus
Dolphin in many places [57]. Another aspect by CC is
weakening Monsoon Rain by El Nino effect in Pakistan
lead to decrease Indus River flow rate and it is predicted
69
World J. Fish & Marine Sci., 8 (1): 68-73, 2016
that it will reduce dramatically Indus River discharge
within next 50 years [58, 59]. Two other important
parameters necessary for population size estimation of
dolphin in water are i.e. Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD)
and Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) which were not
studied so far and should be consider if declining is really
concerned. Like flooding in Pakistan during 2010, resulted
in a lot of point source discharge of waste water in rivers
especially in Indus River contributed towards increase in
BOD and COD. So correct population size estimation is
very difficult for Indus Dolphin population because BOD
> 4mg/L is unhealthy for aquatic organisms and may be
attributed to rapid decline in Indus Dolphin population in
all barrages of Indus River. The abundance of Indus
Dolphin specie within Guddu and Sukhar barrage may be
greater in number due to less BOD and COD i.e. <2mg/L.
This recorded BOD and COD are according to the
permissible limit for estuaries and rivers, was also
confirmed by other researchers [60, 61].
Moreover many other factors are possible for
declining number of Indus Dolphin. Like majority of
fisherman’s depending on income generated from fishing
are illiterate (62, 63).
3.
CONCLUSION
10.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
It has been concluded from present review that Indus
River Dolphin is endemic specie of Pakistan. Different
international and national organizations have working in
collaboration on conservation of Indus River Dolphin and
their efforts have been succeeded in conserving its
population to some extent. But still Indus Dolphin is
threatened species due to the non-addressed issues, like
climate change and water quality parameters, which
adversely affects its population size. So it is need of time
to address these issues and carry out proper monitoring
of Indus dolphin habitat properly through involvement of
technical department and enforced legal action against
illegal hunting and killing.
11.
12.
13.
REFERENCES
1.
2.
Sinha, R.K. and G. Sharma, 2003. Current status of the
Ganges river dolphin, Platanista gangetica in the
rivers Kosi and Son, Bihar, Indian Journal of Bombay
Natural History Society, 100(1): 27-37.
Reeves, R.R. and A.A. Chaudhry, 1998. Status of the
Indus River dolphin Platanista minor. Oryx,
32(1): 35-44.
14.
70
Reeves, R.R., B.D. Smith and T. Kasuya, 2000.
Biology and Conservation of freshwater cetaceans in
Asia. IUCN
Klinowska, M., 1991. Dolphins, porpoises and whales
of the world: the IUCN Red Data Book. IUCN.
Inam, A., P.D. Clift, L. Giosan, A.R. Tabrez, M. Tahir,
M.M. Rabbani and M. Danish, 2007. The
geographic, geological and oceanographic setting of
the Indus River. Large rivers: Geomorphology and
Management, pp: 333-345.
Herald, E.S., R.L. Brownell, F.L. Frye, E.J. Morris,
W. Evans and A. Scott, 1969. Blind river dolphin: first
side-swimming cetacean. Science, New Series,
166(3911): 1408-1410.
Hamilton, H., S. Caballero, A.G. Collins and
R.L. Brownell, 2001. Evolution of river dolphins.
Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series
B: Biological Sciences, 268(1466): 549-556.
Pilleri, G. and M.U. Bhatti, 1978. Status of the Indus
Dolphin Population between Guddu Barrage and
Hyderabad. Investigation on Cetacea: 25-40.
Pilleri, G., 1972. Field observations carried out on the
Indus Dolphin Platanista indi in the winter of 1972.
Investigations on Cetacea, 4: 23-29.
Yang, G., K. Zhou, W. Ren, G. Ji, S. Liu, R. Bastida
and L. Rivero, 2002. Molecular Systematics of River
Dolphins Inferred From Complete Mitochondrial
Cytochrome-b Gene Sequences. Marine Mammal
Science, 18(1): 20-29.
Reeves, R.R., B.S. Smith, E.A. Crespo and
G. Notarbartolo di Sciara, 2003. Dolphins, Whales
and porpoises: 2002-2010 Conservation Action
Plane for the worlds Cetaceans. IUCN/SSC Cetaceans
speciliest Group. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and
Cambridge, UK.
Rice, D.W., 1998. Marine Mammals of the world.
Systematic and distribution. Special distribution
Number 4. Society for Marine Mammology.
Braulik, G.T., 2012. Conservation Ecology and
Phylogenetics of the Indus River dolphin (Platanista
gangetica minor): PhD Thesis, http://research
repository.standrews.ac.uk/handle/10023/3036,
retrieved on 12th November, 2014.
Anderson, J., 1879. Anatomical and zoological
researches: comprising an account of the zoological
results of the two expeditions to western Yunnan in
1868 and 1875 and a monograph of the two cetacean
genera Platanista and Orcella. Bernard Quaritch,
Piccadilly, London.
World J. Fish & Marine Sci., 8 (1): 68-73, 2016
15. Jones, S., 1978. The present status of the
Gangetic susu, Platanista gangetica (Roxburgh),
with comments on the Indus susu, P. minor Owen.
Mammals in the Seas: Small Cetaceans, Seals,
Sirenians and Otters, 4: 97.
16. Braulik, G.T., B.D. Smith and S. Chaudhry,
2012. Platanista gangetica spp. minor. In: IUCN
2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version
2012.2.
17. Pilleri, G., 1970. The capture and transport to
Switzerland of two live Platanista gangetica
from the Indus River. Investigations on Cetacea,
2: 61-68.
18. Lowis, R.M., 1915. Gharial, Gavialis gangeticus and
porpoise, Platanista gangetica, catching in the
Indus. Journal of the Bombay Natural History
Society, 23(4): 779.
19. Braulik, G.T., Z.I. Bhatti, T. Ehsan, B. Hussain,
A.R. Khan, A. Khan, U. Khan, K.U. Kundi, R. Rajput,
A.P. Reichert, S.P. Northridge, H.B. Bhagat and
R. Garstang, 2012. Robust abundance estimate for
endangered river dolphin subspecies in south Asia.
Endangered Species Research, 17: 201-215.
20. Waqas, U., M.I. Malik and L.A. Khokhar, 2012.
Conservation of Indus River Dolphin (Platanista
gangetica minor) in the Indus River system,
Pakistan: an overview. Rec. Zoological Survey of
Pakistan, 21: 82-85.
21. Braulik, G.T., 2012. Conservation Ecology and
Phylogenetics of the Indus River dolphin (Platanista
gangetica minor): PhD Thesis, http://research
repository.standrews.ac.uk/handle/10023/3036,
retrieved on 12th November, 2014.
22. Braulik, G.T., M. Arshad, U. Noureen and
S.P. Northridge, 2014. Habitat Fragmentation and
Species Extirpation in Freshwater Ecosystems;
Causes of Range Decline of the Indus River Dolphin
(Platanista gangetica minor). PLoS One. 9(7): e101657.
23. Regehr, E.V., N.L. Lunn, S.C. Amstrup and I. Stirling,
2007. Effects of earlier sea ice breakup on
survival and population size of polar bears in
western Hudson Bay. The Journal of Wildlife
Management, 71(8): 2673-2683.
24. Hammond, P.S., P. Berggren, H. Benke, D.L. Borchers,
A. Collet, M.P. Heide-Jørgensen and N. Øien, 2002.
Abundance of harbour porpoise and other cetaceans
in the North Sea and adjacent waters. Journal of
Applied Ecology, 39(2): 361-376.
25. Hiby, L. and M.B. Krishna, 2001. Line transect
sampling from a curving path. Biometrics,
57(3): 727-731.
26. Swann, D.E., R.C. Averill-Murray and C.R. Schwalbe,
2002. Distance sampling for Sonoran desert
tortoises. The Journal of Wildlife Management,
66(4): 969-975.
27. Buckland, S.T., A.E. Magurran, R.E. Green and
R.M. Fewster, 2005. Monitoring change in
biodiversity
through
composite
indices.
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B:
Biological Sciences, 360(1454): 243-254.
28. Burton, C., C.J. Krebs and E.B. Taylor, 2002.
Population genetic structure of the cyclic snowshoe
hare (Lepus americanus) in southwestern Yukon,
Canada. Molecular Ecology, 11(9): 1689-1701.
29. Miller, C.R., P. Joyce and L.P. Waits, 2005. A new
method for estimating the size of small populations
from genetic mark–recapture data. Molecular ecology,
14(7): 1991-2005.
30. Dorazio, R.M. and P.J. Rago, 1991. Evaluation of a
mark-recapture method for estimating mortality
and migration rates of stratified populations.
Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences,
48(2): 254-260.
31. Dorazio, R.M., H.L. Jelks and F. Jordan, 2005.
Improving Removal-Based Estimates of Abundance
by Sampling a Population of Spatially Distinct
Subpopulations. Biometrics, 61(4): 1093-1101.
32. Tuyttens, F.A., 2000. The closed-subpopulation
method and estimation of population size from markrecapture and ancillary data. Canadian Journal of
Zoology, 78(2): 320-326.
33. Smith, B.D., G. Braulik, S. Strindberg, B. Ahmed and
R. Mansur, 2006. Abundance of Irrawaddy dolphins
(Orcaella brevirostris) and Ganges River dolphins
(Platanista gangetica gangetica) estimated using
concurrent counts made by independent teams in
waterways of the Sundarbans mangrove forest in
Bangladesh. Marine Mammal Science, 22(3): 527-547.
34. Posada, D. and T.R. Buckley, 2004. Model
selection and model averaging in phylogenetics:
advantages of Akaike information criterion and
Bayesian approaches over likelihood ratio tests.
Systematic Biology, 53(5): 793-808.
35. Andserson, D.R. and P.B. Kenneth, 2002. Avoiding
Pitfalls When Using Information-Theoretic Methods.
Journal of Wildlife Management, 66: 910-6.
71
World J. Fish & Marine Sci., 8 (1): 68-73, 2016
36. Stanley, T.R. and K.P. Burnham, 1998. InformationTheoretic Model Selection and Model Averaging
for Closed-Population Capture-Recapture Studies.
Biometrical Journal, 40(4): 475-494.
37. Braulik, G.T., 2006. Status assessment of the Indus
River dolphin, Platanista gangetica minor,
March–April 2001. Biological Conservation,
129(4): 579-590.
38. Senthilkumar, K., K. Kannan, R.K. Sinha, S. Tanabe
and J.P. Giesy, 1999. Bioaccumulation profiles of
polychlorinated
biphenyl
congeners
and
organochlorine pesticides in Ganges River
dolphins. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry,
18(7): 1511-1520.
39. Dudgeon, D., 1992. Endangered ecosystems: a review
of the conservation status of tropical Asian rivers.
Hydrobiologia, 248(3): 167-191.
40. Dudgeon, D., 2000. Large-Scale Hydrological
Changes in Tropical Asia: Prospects for Riverine
Biodiversity the construction of large dams will
have an impact on the biodiversity of tropical Asian
rivers and their associated wetlands. Bio Science,
50(9): 793-806.
41. Kannan, K., K. Ramu, N. Kajiwara, R.K. Sinha
and S. Tanabe, 2005. Organochlorine pesticides,
polychlorinated biphenyls and polybrominated
diphenyl ethers in Irrawaddy dolphins from India.
Archives of Environmental Contamination and
Toxicology, 49(3): 415-420.
42. Kannan, K., K. Senthilkumar and R.K. Sinha, 1997.
Sources and accumulation of butyltin compounds in
Ganges River dolphin, Platanista gangetica. Applied
Organometallic Chemistry, 11(3): 223-230.
43. Kannan, K., R.K. Sinha, S. Tanabe, H. Ichihashi,
R. Tatsukawa, 1993. Heavy metals and
organochlorine residues in Ganges River dolphins
from India. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 26(3): 159-162.
44. Gachal, G.S. and F.M. Slater, 2004. Barrages,
biodiversity and the Indus river dolphin. Pakistan
journal of Biological Sciences, 7(5): 797-801.
45. Kelkar, N., J. Krishnaswamy, S. Choudhary and
D. Sutaria, 2010. Coexistence of fisheries with
river dolphin conservation. Conservation Biology,
24(4): 1130-1140.
46. Cassens, I., S. Vicario, V,G. Waddell, H. Balchowsky,
D. Van Belle, W. Ding and M.C. Milinkovitch,
2000. Independent adaptation to riverine habitats
allowed survival of ancient cetacean lineages.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
97: (21) 11343-11347.
72
47. Chaudhry, A.A. and U. Khalid, 1989. Indus dolphin
population in Punjab. Proceedings of the Pakistan
Congress of Zoology, 9: 291-296.
48. Reeves, R.R., 1991. Conservation of the bhulan (blind
river dolphin) in the Punjab. Natura, WWF-Pakistan,
Lahore, pp: 3-22.
49. Reeves, R.R., A.A. Chaudhry and U. Khalid, 1991.
Competing for water on the Indus plain: Is there a
future for Pakistan's River Dolphins? Environmental
Conservation, 18(4): 341-350.
50. Akbar, M., A.Q. Mehal and M.J. Arshed, 2004.
Population Estimation of Indus Dolphin from
Jinnah-Guddu Barrage. Journal of Applied Sciences,
491: 21-23.
51. Gomez-Salazar, C., F. Trujillo and H. Whitehead,
2011. Ecological factors influencing group
sizes of river dolphins (Inia geoffrensis
and Sotalia fluviatilis). Marine Mammal Science,
28(2).
52. Directorate of
Land
Reclamation Punjab,
2007. Surface Water Quality Monitoring in
Punjab Annual Report 2007. [Available online]
http://www.irispunjab.gov.pk/chartsShowing.aspx?
lnk=http://irrigation.punjab.gov.pk/Data/Final%20R
eport-08-2.pdf, retrieved on 16th Novemeber, 2014.
53. WWF, 2014. Conservation of River Indus Dolphin:
Specie Factsheet. www.wwfpak.org. Retrieved on
2nd December, 2014.
54. Bunn, S.E. and A.H. Arthington, 2002. Basic
principles and ecological consequences of altered
flow regimes for aquatic biodiversity. Environmental
Management, 30: 492-507.
55. Nilsson, C., C.A. Reidy, M. Dynesius and
C. Revenga, 2005. Fragmentation and flow
regulation of the world's large river systems. Science,
308: 405-408.
56. Smith, B.D. and G.T. Braulik, 2008. Platanista
gangetica. In IUCN Red List of threatened species.
Version 2009.2. International Union for Conservation
of Nature, Gland, Switzerland.
57. NASA’s Earth Observatory, 2010. La Nina.
[Available
online].
http://earthobservatory.
nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=45177.
Retrieved on 18th January, 2015.
58. Miller, J.D., W.W. Immerzeel and G. Rees,
2012. Climate Change Impacts on Glacier
Hydrology and River Discharge in the Hindu
Kush–Himalayas.
Mountain
Research
and
Development, 32(4): 461-467.
World J. Fish & Marine Sci., 8 (1): 68-73, 2016
59. Braulik, G.T., M. Arshad, U. Noureen and
S.P. Northridge, 2014. Habitat Fragmentation and
Species Extirpation in Freshwater Ecosystems;
Causes of Range Decline of the Indus River
Dolphin (Platanista gangetica minor). PloS one,
9(7): e101657.
60. Wenner, E., D. Sanger, M. Arendt, A.F. Holland and
Y. Chen, 2004.Variability in dissolved oxygen and
other water-quality variables within the National
Estuarine Research Reserve System. Journal of
Coastal Research, 45: 17-38.
61. Slater, F.M., G.S. Gachal, S.M. Yusuf, B.A. Channar,
2003. The precarious status of the Indus Dolphin
(Platanista minor) between Guddu and Sukkur
barrages in 1999. Pakistan Journal of Scientific and
Industrial Research, 46(2): 110-116.
62. Paul, B., H. Farugue, D. A. Ahsan, 2013. Livelihood
Status of the Fishers of the Turag River,
Bangladesh. Middle East Journal of Scientific
Research, 18(5): 578-583.
63. Khan, M.A.R., M.I. Miah, M.B. Hossain, A. Begum,
M. H. Minar, R. Karim, 2013. Fish Biodiversity and
Livelihood Status of Fishing Community of Tista
River, Bangladesh. Global Veterinaria, 10(4): 417-423.
73