An Irrawaddy dolphin in Myanmar.

AN annual Irrawaddy (Ayeyarwady) dolphin monitoring project – a collaboration between the Department of Fisheries and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) – got underway in September, officials said.

Under the program, the dolphins will be monitored along a 74-kilometre stretch of the Ayeyarwady River between Mingun and Kyaukmyaung until June 2010.

Officials will spend two weeks a month in the field implementing the program, which includes monitoring populations and studying their behaviour, educating villagers about preserving the environment and preventing illegal fishing methods in the region.

Researchers will observe dolphins feeding, swimming, resting and socialising from a distance of about 50 metres.

This project was initiated in 2002 and in December 2005 the monitoring area was demarcated. There are believed to be as many as 72 Irrawaddy (Ayeyarwady) dolphins living in the Ayeyarwady River between Mandalay and Bhamo, with at least 16 in the monitored area between Mingun and Kyaukmyaung. The Irrawaddy (Ayeyarwady) dolphin is considered “critically endangered” in Myanmar.