A dead Irrawaddy dolphin, five feet long, has washed ashore at Kuakata beach in Patuakhali. Its belly was split open and there were marks on its tail.

Jewel Rana, a member of the Kuakata Dolphin Protection Committee, found the dolphin at around 5pm on Sunday, 25 June, near the fry market east of Kuakata's Zero Point. Earlier, on 11 May, two dead Irrawaddy dolphins washed up in the beach's tamarisk forest area.

"In the afternoon, on my way from the beach to Gangamati, I saw the dolphin lying here," Jewel said. "Talking to locals, I learned it came in on the morning tide."

According to the Kuakata Dolphin Protection Committee, five Irrawaddy dolphins, including this one, have come ashore this year, and 19 dolphins, dead and alive, washed up in 2022.

Sagarika Smriti, an associate researcher with WorldFish's ECOFISH-II Bangladesh project, which works on the marine blue economy, the coastal environment and biodiversity, told Jago News that marine animals are dying like this because the sea's environment is being destroyed. "The dolphin that washed up today is an Irrawaddy dolphin. If possible, we will collect samples and test them."

Abul Kalam Azad, Mohipur range officer of the Forest Department, told Jago News he learned of it through the dolphin protection committee and is sending field officers to arrange for the dead dolphin to be buried.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.