Tucuxi dolphin  (Sotalia fluviatilis)

The tucuxi dolphin is regularly caught accidentally in gillnets of large fishing trawlers, and is the most common cetacean in the by-catch of coastal fisheries in the south Caribbean Sea. Intentional hunting appears to be rare, but does take place for meat to eat, for blubber to be used as shark bait, and for the genital organs and eyes which are sold as love amulets (1). A major potential threat is a proposal for the construction of hydroelectric dams, which would cause population fragmentation and increased inbreeding, as well as the extinction of the migratory fish that constitute the diet of the freshwater tucuxi dolphin (2). Pollution from heavy metals, banned pesticides and noise are also concerns, as is habitat loss (1).

The superstition of fishermen, who believe the tucuxi dolphin to be a sacred animal that brings the bodies of drowned people back to the shore, has ensured that it has rarely been targeted as a food item (6). In 1994, the International Whaling Commission's (IWC) Scientific Committee urged member states to reduce by-catch and monitor populations (1). The IWC had previously started the Sotalia Project with the organisation ‘Brasil's Biologists', which sets out to study the behaviour and habitat needs of the tucuxi dolphin, and has managed to build a significant collection of photo identifications (6).