KKP Responds Swiftly to Stranded Dolphin in Kutai Kartanegara
The Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) has moved swiftly to follow up a public report concerning the discovery of a dolphin carcass floating in the waters of Rempanga village, Loa Kulu subdistrict, Kutai Kartanegara regency, East Kalimantan.
The handling was carried out directly together with the community and the village government, from the search and evacuation to the collection of biological samples and the final disposal of the animal’s carcass.
Director General of Marine and Fisheries Management, Koswara, said a rapid response to every marine mammal stranding incident is an important part of conservation efforts as well as of strengthening the scientific database to support the management of marine resources.
He stressed that, in addition to protecting a protected species, the handling also provides important scientific data to support the management and conservation of marine mammals in Indonesia.
“We appreciate the active role of the public who promptly reported this incident so that the handling process could be carried out properly,” he said on Thursday, 23 July 2026.
The report on the discovery of the dolphin carcass was initially received by the Pontianak Marine and Fisheries Resources Supervision Office (Balai PK Pontianak) from residents of Rempanga village on Saturday, 18 July 2026. Following up on the information, the team immediately coordinated with the village government and the community before conducting a search by boat along the waters around the Kutai Kartanegara Bridge, Kumala Island and downstream areas of the river.
The dolphin carcass was eventually found downstream of the Kutai Kartanegara Bridge in an already decomposed condition. Based on initial identification, the animal was an Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops aduncus), male, with a body length of about 223 centimetres.
Head of the Pontianak Marine Management Office (Balai Pengelolaan Kelautan Pontianak), Syarif Iwan Taruna Alkadrie, explained that shortly after the discovery, the team immediately carried out identification, documentation and the collection of skin tissue samples to support DNA analysis as part of strengthening scientific data.
“After all stages of examination were completed, the dolphin carcass was handled through burial in accordance with marine mammal stranding procedures,” he said.
The skin tissue samples were subsequently handed over to the RASI Conservation Foundation to support the storage and DNA analysis process to confirm the species and complete the genetic information on the marine mammal.
The entire handling process took place with the full support of the Rempanga village government and the community, who assisted from the initial report through the search process to the final disposal of the animal’s carcass.