A number of factors may affect these dolphins. A habitat in peril. Hydroelectric development currently poses the biggest threat to the boto. To meet Brazil's increasing need for electric power, dam construction in the Amazon River basin is expected to increase significantly by the year 2000. Damming activities separate dolphin populations from many fish species that they prey upon.
Agriculture is another major threat to the boto.
These fish in turn compirse a part of the boto's diet. Toxic chemical polutants from agricultural pesticides, mining, and paper milling are potentially harmful to the dolphins and the entire river ecosystem. Very little research has been conducted to determine concentration levels of these chemicals or their impact on the environment. Commerical fishing in the Amazon basin is on the rise, and with it, a probable increase in dolphin mortality due to incidental entanglement in fishing nets. A workshop held in Wuhan, China, sponsored by Sea World, produced a number of recommendations for perserving river dolphins.