Human-Dolphin Partnership Reserve

ahbe writes that the Myanmar government recently established a protected reserve for partnering between fisherman and wild dolphins. From the article: "The fascinating partnership involves fishermen summoning the dolphins to voluntarily herd schools of fish toward the boats and awaiting nets. With the aid of the river-dwelling dolphins, the fishermen can increase the size of their catches by threefold, and the dolphins appear to benefit by more easily preying on the cornered fish in both nets and on the muddy banks of the river."

Comments

So Long

[Anonymous Coward]

And thanks for all the fish.

Changing views on dolphin sentience?

[CRCulver]

Just forty years ago Larry Niven, in his first book of Known Space, World of Ptaavs (now collected in the Three Books of Known Space omnibus) had dolphins talking with humans and handling tools by means of various technological implants linked to the nervous system. It seemed to be taken for granted that dolphins were self-aware and just as intelligent as human beings, they just couldn't tell us so.

Now, however, that idea is totally gone from speculative fiction. What research has been done in the last few decades that has removed hope that dolphins are really as smart as we once thought?

Re:Changing views on dolphin sentience?

[Inverted Intellect]

Dolphins are pretty smart, all right. They have excellent social intelligence, even to the point of being able to communicate somewhat effectively with other species, most notably us humans.

I've always found it relatively obvious why dolphins wouldn't develop very high intelligence as corresponds to that measured by IQ, which is generally called g. We humans evolved heightened intelligence because that's what we needed to be able to adapt to rapidly changing conditions and to exploit multiple sources of food. But why would dolphins really develop both the sort of intelligence, and the limbs, needed to make and handle tools (which I think is an important part of developing the g type of intelligence as that which is seen in humans)? Their only natural predators are sharks and orcas, and they've got those pretty well covered due to their excellent teamwork skills. Those lucky bastards are practically living in paradise!

But then again, maybe we'd find that dolphins have the neccessary intelligence for toolmaking, if we just gave them some manipulators. That is to say hands.

Re:Changing views on dolphin sentience?

[jani]

Now, however, that idea is totally gone from speculative fiction.

The idea was picked up again by the Uplift trilogies by David Brin; Sundiver (1980), Startide Rising (1983) and The Uplift War (1987); Brightness Reef (1995), Infinity's Shore (1996) and Heaven's Reach (1998). I suppose that Startide Rising and The Uplift War are the most notable. Baby seals will cry if you don't buy these books, but nobody else. ;)

And of course, we have Douglas Adams.

I wouldn't call the idea "totally gone", just not overwhelmingly popular or compelling.

Re:Changing views on dolphin sentience?

[kv9]

Dolphins are pretty smart, all right.

yes, but do they have frickin' lase... oh wait

No surprise

[Negative Response]

This really should be expected, them dolphins being the second most intelligent on the Earth and all, you know, next only to mice.

Dolphins

[Bloke down the pub]

I forget the exact wording, but it goes something like: "Humans invented war, the M25 and Windows while the dolphins were just playing in the water and eating fish. On the other hand, the dolphins considered themselves more intelligent - for precisely the same reasons".

And I for one welcome our new cetacean overlords.

Re:Dolphins

[Anonymous Coward]

If you are going to quote the good book, please get it right.

For instance, on the planet Earth, man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much - the wheel, New York, wars and so on - whilst all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man - for precisely the same reasons.

We need an amendment to ban Human/Dolphin marriage

[Anonymous Coward]

Human/Dolphin partnerships are just the first step on the Dolphin agenda! Soon they will begin having parades and demanding marriage, and that will destory the sanctity of marriage! Marriage should be between a human and a human! Adam and Steve, not Adam and OOOEEEEEE-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-AAAAAAAA!

  Eve, I mean! Adam and Eve! I'm not gay. No one who's a good Christian is ever gay, understand? Ok. Just wanted to clear that up.

Useful to humans = No extinction

[johnnywheeze]

Usefulness to humans seems to be a huge evolutionary advantage.

There's also a small population of Irawaddy Dolphins in the Mekong river where Laos Cambodia and Thailand meet. They also have a population less than 100.

Sadly, being useful to local fishermen is probably the only way these creatures will be allowed to continue to exist, as human beings aren't really keen on cutting pollution, not building dams, and protecting the fisheries. Currently they're on parole from a very small tourism industry around viewing them.

Hopefully more fishermen will pick this up and they will become as common as elephants, water buffalo and the other useful creatures around here.

Tempting to call bullshit?

[jeremymiles]

TFA is extremely short on details.

• How does one summon dolphins? How do the dolphins know that they are to 'herd' the fish into the nets?
• How do the dolphins not get caught in the same nets?
• If herding the fish means the dolphins get more to eat, why do they need to do this into the nets? Why not use a small bay to do this? If the dolphins didn't come across this in a couple of million years of evolution, well, they really are dim
• How come more respectable news sources haven't picked up on this E.g. the http://news.bbc.co.uk/ or http://www.newscientist.com/. They've both shown themselves to take a pretty relaxed line on checking the credibility of stories ( toothing or Nanniebot anyone?. Even Google News gives us only one hit.

  Nice idea though, and it would be cool if it were true.