Evidence for the continued use of river dolphin oil for bait fishing and traditional medicine: implications for conservation.

ABSTRACT: Populations of the Ganges river dolphin (Platanista gangetica gangetica) are endangered, with ~3500 individuals estimated worldwide. Threats to this precarious population is exacerbated by accidental entanglement and illegal hunting for oil, which is used in bait fisheries and traditional medicine. Alternatives to dolphin oil have been proposed and extensively promoted in India, to curb the immediate threat to dolphin populations. However, it is not known whether dolphins are still being poached for oil, despite the proposal of aforementioned alternatives. Herein, a molecular protocol to monitor the presence of Dolphin DNA, using species identification of DNA extracted from bait oils obtained from fishermen is presented. This is coupled with information from social surveys to unders

SUBMITTER: Kolipakam V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7452396 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature