On the day we took our trip down the river, we end at a
village called Kahalgaon. This is a small fishing village. Small in size, but
not in strength. For a long time, the fishermen of this region were controlled
by an antiquated system of domination by landlords. The people of this village
fought through peaceful demonstration and protest. And after 10 long years,
they won their battle and the country of India declared that this system was
unlawful. Sadly the relief was short lived, and instead of landlords, other
criminal elements moved in. Murdering seven of these fishermen to demonstrate
the new system. These villagers still work to do all they can to fight this new
situation, but as of today, are still under the “mafia” control.
So how does this affect the dolphin? Why am I bringing this
up? The elements that control the fishermen, create added pressure to 1)
collect more fish than may be needed for their families to survive, because
these other individuals get a percentage of the catch or money from the catch
and 2) these other individuals promote poor fishing practices, such as the use
of the tiny mesh size blue nets that remove everything in their path. So if
more fish are being removed, there is less food for the dolphins.
The problem of decimating the fish stocks has not gone
unnoticed by the fishermen. And this is why they continue to fight. Fight for
basic human rights and fight to maintain the river and the species that can
still be found living in it. These people have remarkable courage. And continue
to do all they can to raise their voices to all who will listen. It is another
example to me, of the power that everyone has in this story of conservation.
I can tell you that we listened, and that we will make
certain that their story and the story of the effects of this system on the
dolphins in this area is heard by as many people as we can tell.
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