Fishermen living along the Ayeyarwady River near the Mandalay-Kyauk Myaung area are so familiar with the Irrawaddy Dolphins that share their fishing grounds with, they have given the animals names. Among the most beloved are Gone Ma Gyi, Lel Waing Ma and Shwe Nyi Naung. The dolphins have earned this affection because they help the fishermen increase their catches. Gone Ma Gyi, one of the biggest dolphins in the area, is a particular favourite because she has been known to help even the most unproficient of fishermen increase their catch. Le Waing Ma, who has a spot on her neck akin to a birthmark and a rounder face, is also known to be very helpful. Two other dolphins, jointly called Shwe Nyi Naung, usually work together. While one of them is helping a fisherman near the front of the boat the other is doing the same at the rear. This explains their name, which means the golden brothers. Their cooperative behaviour allows a fisherman to cast two nets. According to the fishermen, the dolphins, which tend to live in groups of five or six, drive fish into the area where fishermen are waiting and then surround the fish. Whenever the dolphins gather, local fishermen prepare their nets. When one of the dolphins splashes its tail, perhaps as signal to the others to herd the fish, the fishermen cast their nets. The fishermen always make sure their nets do not accidently trap the dolphins, and the dolphins then feast on the fish that escape the nets. This cooperation between fishermen and dolphins is believed to exist nowhere in the world except Myanmar, and particularly the Mandalay-Kyauk Myaung area, which is also a dolphin conservation zone. There are over 80 dolphin species in the world and only five including Irrawaddy dolphins live in or near rivers. Irrawaddy dolphins reach sexual maturity between seven to nine years and give birth to only one infant at a time. Pregnancies last 14 months and a female dolphin can breed only six to seven times in her life time. The animals can live up to 30 years. The animals are grayish-blue with a grayish-white stomach and have the smiling face dolphins are famous for. If a fisherman is smart, he can make a living with the dolphins. The dolphins are where the fish are. The females primarily catch the fish while the males do the herding, said U Tin Myo, a fisherman from Myay Sone Village, Mattaya Township, who often cooperates with dolphins while fishing. No one knows exactly how long the phenomenon of dolphins working with fishermen has been going on, but it has been recorded as far back as the 1800s. U Tin Myo, 46, says he is just continuing a tradition that has been carried for generations by fishermen in the region. He says he has been casting nets with the help of dolphins since he was a teen and has become familiar enough with his helpers that he can distinguish their sex. Although it’s hard to tell while they’re swimming, the males’ bodies tend to be a bit longer while the females are rounder and stouter. After catching fish, the mature females will stick close to its offspring, U Tin Myo said. Sadly, of the dolphins he is most fond of, Gone Ma Gyi and Lel Wine Ma, are no longer alive. Gone Ma Gyi disappeared in 2015 and Lel Wine Ma died earlier this year. Lel Wine Ma died young during this monsoon season. Gone Ma Gyi vanished in 2015, said U Tin Myo, while gazing at the Ayeyarwady River. As he has been aided by dolphins throughout his life, he shares a strong bond with the animals and says his heart aches when dolphins die. There are believed to be only 76 dolphins in Ayeyarwady River between Mandalay and Bamaw today, said U Han Win, a dolphin conservationist who has 10 years of experience in the field. Between 2002 and the present, 30 to 40 deaths of the animals have been recorded. Some die of natural causes but many of the deaths are the result of human activity and the tiny population is just holding on. The dolphin population can only grow if we can reduce the deaths due to human causes, said U Han Win. Fishermen along the Ayeyarwady River say they are distressed by the increasing number of dolphin deaths since 2016. During my childhood, there were periods when not even one died in three years. These days, there have been as many as three deaths a year and there might be others that we don’t know about, said U Tin Myo. Around the time the number of dolphin deaths started rising, electro fishing, where fish are caught after being subjected to electric shock also started to become more widespread. Other dangerous methods of fishing such as using poisons and explosives also began to emerge. The animals also face pressure from activities such as agriculture, mining and industrialisation, which has led to pollutants flowing into the river. Examinations of the bodies of dead dolphins have shown that there is less food in their stomachs, said U Han Win. The fish resources are becoming scarcer. I have worked here for 20 years. In the past, fish was abundant this time of year. A fisherman could get around 20 viss per net. But now, we might only get five to 10 viss in an entire fishing season, said U Han Win. One viss, a traditional measure, is roughly equivalent to 1.6 kilogrammes. U Tin Myo said he catches from three to four viss of fish on the river between Mandalay to Kyauk Myaung without the help of dolphins, but this can rise to nearly 10 viss with the help of dolphins. Now, due to unsustainable fishing methods such as using electricity, the number of fish is decreasing. I used to net nine to 10 visses of fish at a time when I fished with dolphins before. But now, it is not easy to get just a viss of fish at a time, he said. The season for fishing with dolphin is coming soon, said U Moe Moe from Indaung Kyaw Village near Wat Lat Township. Fishermen here call dolphins by knocking the side of their boats with a stick or hitting the water with a paddle. Even the sound of a net being cast can bring them in. The locals call it dolphin soothing. U Moe Moe said fewer dolphins are coming as the use of electro-fishing becomes more widespread. Foreigners are brought to see dolphins, but dolphins don’t want to come closer these days. Now we have to try much harder to coax them into coming closer. If we can’t coax, we have to go to where they are and see them, said another fisherman. Realising the danger the animals face, the Department of Fisheries, Wildlife Conservation Society of Myanmar, residents are now working together on conservation activities. WCS is providing technical and financial supports. We conduct monthly patrols in protected area and make arrests of people using illegal fishing methods. And we also give conservation talks in villages. We can say the number of dolphins is rising or steady, said project manager of WCS Myanmar, U Kyaw Hla Than. The Mandalay-Kyauk Myaung Ayeyarwady Dolphin Protected Area was established in 2015 and has also been extended to Htee Chaint-Shwegu. The hope is the protected areas will keep the Irrawaddy Dolphin species from extinction in the Ayeyarwady River and preserve traditional fishing techniques. It is very surprising that there are behaviors and exchange of language between fishermen and dolphins. This tradition seems to be found in only Myanmar so we are trying very hard to preserve this, said U Han Win.