Sighting and stranding reports of Irrawaddy dolphins (Orcaella brevirostris) and Dugongs (Dugong dugon) in Kep and Kampot, Cambodia

In Cambodia, information on the distribution of Irrawaddy dolphins Orcaella brevirostris and dugongs Dugong dugon is limited (Beasley & Davidson, 2007; Hines et al., 2015a). Irrawaddy dolphin presence is confirmed in the coastal waters of Thailand’s Trat Province, Cambodia's Koh Kong and Sihanoukville provinces and Vietnam’s Kien Giang Province (Figure 1) (Beasley & Davidson, 2007; Ponnampalam, 2013; Smith et al., 2014; Vu et al., 2015; Hines et al., 2015b; Smith et al., 2016). Unconfirmed fisher reports identify the presence of small and sporadic dugong populations at both the Thai-Cambodian and Vietnamese-Cambodian border regions (Perrin et al., 1995, 1996; Nelson, 1999; Beasley & Davison, 2007; Hines et al., 2008). The coastal distribution of both species exposes them to anthropogenic threats, specifically habitat degradation, and fisheries bycatch (Reeves et al. 2003; Hines et al., 2008; Smith et al. 2008; Jaaman et al. 2009; Marsh et al. 2011; Peter et al., 2016a; Peter et al. 2016b; Pilcher et al. 2017).