Dolphin Deaths Under Investigation

CAPE PANWA: Eleven bottle-nosed dolphins and one dugong were found dead on January 25 in a protected coastal zone off Libong Island in nearby Trang province. Villagers at Koh Libong in Kantang District spotted the dolphins floating in a no-fishing zone around the island and reported the find to Trang Fisheries officials. The dolphins and the dugong were transported to the Phuket Marine Biological and Fisheries Research Institute to determine the cause of their death. An autopsy carried out on one of the dolphins proved inconclusive, but officials say they assume it died from a virus caused by chemicals used in trawling. The institute has asked a veterinarian from Kasetsart University to carry out a further autopsy tomorrow (February 2). The dugong died of fishhook wounds in the mouth and stomach, according to an institute official, Mr Supoj Chantrapornsilp.