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Habitat and subspecies under severe threat
The survival of the Ganges River dolphin is threatened by unintentional killing through entanglement in fishing gear; directed harvest for dolphin oil, which is used as a fish attractant and for medicinal purposes; water development projects (e.g. water extraction and the construction of barrages, high dams, and embankments); industrial waste and pesticides; municipal sewage discharge and noise from vessel traffic; and overexploitation of prey, mainly due to the widespread use of non-selective fishing gear.
Habitat loss and degradationMore than 50 dams and irrigation-related projects have had an adverse impact on the habitat of this species. These projects result in major changes in the flow, sediment load, and water quality of rivers, which affects the quality of waters downstream.
As a result, there has been a serious decrease in fish production, while the extraction of river water and siltation from deforestation are also degrading the species' habitat. In some cases, habitat alterations have resulted in the genetic isolation of dolphin populations.
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Pollution
Pollution levels are a problem, and are expected to increase with the development of intensive modern industrial practices in the region. Compounds such as organochlorine and butyltin found in the tissues of Ganges River dolphins are a cause for concern about their potential effects on the subspecies.
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Fisheries bycatch
Bycatch in gillnets and line hooks is also a major source of mortality for this subspecies.
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Directed take
Although the killing of this dolphin for meat and oil is thought to have declined, it still occurs in the middle Ganges near Patna, in the Kalni-Kushiyara River of Bangladesh, and in the upper reaches of the Brahmaputra. In fisheries for large catfish in India and Bangladesh, dolphin oil and body parts are used to lure prey, and Ganges River dolphins are used to this end.
Efforts have been made in India to test shark liver and sardine oil and fish offal to find an alternative for dolphin products. The latter appears promising.