With by-catch posing as the most prominent threat to the survival of the Irrawaddy Dolphins population in Mekong, the Cambodian Government initiated the Dolphin Commission Project to protect the species in the Mekong River. The aim of this project is to stop the decline and eventually recover the population of the Irrawaddy Dolphins in the Mekong River. The Government passed a law banning the use of gillnets in large stretches of the Mekong River. This law was backed up with strong enforcement by rangers, and support from the local communities.

A global organisation which builds the largest species conservation fund, Save Our Species (SOS), intervened and provided the Government with a grant to provide training, equipment and fuel to allow more frequent and effective ranger patrols. The Dolphin Commission currently has 17 ranger posts along the stretch of the river, and more than 70 rangers patrolling to prevent the use of gillnets in the specified zones of the river. They are also equipped with radios, GPS units, cameras and other necessary equipment. The SOS project team also collaborated with the local NGOs in Cambodia to conduct education and raise awareness among the locals about dolphin conservation, and provide fisherman with alternatives to gillnets to obtain their food and income.