KRATIE: The Kratie Provincial administration said that six dolphins were born within the province in 2023, which will serve to increase the income of the community by attracting tourists in the new year.

Kratie Province is located on a plateau in northeast Cambodia, where about 140km of the Mekong River flow. The site is classified as a protected area for fisheries and biodiversity as one of the only remaining habitats for the Mekong Irrawaddy River Dolphin.

The Mekong River Dolphin Management and Protection Area in Kratie extends 85 km from the head of Trong Island in Kratie City to the border of Stung Treng Province. It is divided into a core area and a buffer zone.

On November 4, 2023, a team from the Fisheries Administration and WWF arrived at the site and took photos of six river dolphins swimming near Kratie’s Kampi village.

On December 22, 2023, a pod of 15 to 20 pink Indopacific dolphins were found swimming in the saltwater estuary of Kampot province as well.

A 2020 census of Cambodia’s Irrawaddy dolphin population counted 89 of the critically endangered animals, down from 200 recorded in 1997. Fishing nets, dams and other human developments contribute to their decline each year. In 2023, eight dolphins were born and five dolphins died, including two calves and two young adults from fishing gear and one from old age.