Location:  Puerto Nariño, Colombian Amazon

Project:  Saving the Amazon river dolphin

Field Season: Year round

River dolphins are among the world’s most endangered mammals.  With the Chinese river dolphin, or baiji, recently declared extinct, our goal is to secure a future for the world’s surviving river dolphins.

For 20 years, WDCS has funded the work of Fernando Trujillo, one of the founding Directors of Fundación Omacha based in Bogota. The most urgent and pressing problem they face is the hunting of dolphins for fish bait.

Fernando and his team are working with local fishermen to find solutions to their conflict with the dolphins, who they blame for stealing their fish and damaging their nets.  To address the problem of dolphin-damaged fish that cannot be sold at market, we have set up a trial fish-filleting cooperative. We are lobbying the government to support this and other initiatives to provide vital income to the wives, mothers and families of fishing communities.

In some regions river dolphins are hunted and their dead bodies used as fish bait.  This practice is already having a disastrous impact on river dolphin populations and is a serious threat to their future.  Solutions include a ban on the use of dolphin bait and accompanying support for the fishing communities. Alternative bait needs to be made available as well as better management of the fisheries. Support for fishermen to earn an income from other activities is also vital. Training is required for them to become Amazon wildlife guides and /or to make carvings, paintings, and jewellery from sustainable sources to sell to eco-tourists.

Omacha is also working to protect freshwater ecosystems and endangered species such as river dolphins as part of Colombia’s overall conservation targets in protected areas and has further river dolphin abundance surveys scheduled.