Marine protected areas for whales, dolphins, and porpoises: a world ...

Habitat Protection for Cetaceans around the World 307
Notes and rationale For more information
• Two conservation areas have been created under local laws at • Contact: Michel Vély,
Baie de Ranobe and Nosy Ve island and there is integrated coastal l’association Megaptera;
resource management (encompassing fisheries, mangroves and email:
tourism). Proposed as a Unesco biosphere reserve as well as a mvely@megaptera-oi.org;
World Heritage Site because of its outstanding marine biodiversity, web:
the area has the largest barrier reef in the region high coral and fish www.megaptera-oi.org
diversity; high endemism in freshwater wetlands and coastal
vegetation; seagrass beds, turtles, birds and marine mammals
including sperm whales.
• The coral reefs in the area have been monitored since 1997 and
there have been numerous field surveys, though there has been
little cetacean work in terms of habitat identification.
• Photo-ID work on humpback whales has been conducted in and • Contact: Michel Vély,
around these reserves by the Observatoire des Mamifères Marins l’association Megaptera;
(OMM) of the Direction de l’Agriculture et de la Forêt (DAF) and the email:
Association Megaptera from the Indian and South Atlantic mvely@megaptera-oi.org;
Consortium on the Humpback Whale (ISACH). web:
www.megaptera-oi.org;
Howard Rosenbaum;
hrosenbaum@wcs.org
• OMM-DAF; email:
Daf.mayotte@wanadoo.fr
• ISACH; web:
www.isach.org
• In 1971, three of the islands, Bangue, Magaruque and Benguera, • Dutton and Zolho, 1991;
were proclaimed national parks, with modest marine waters Engdahl and Motta, 2000
included; in Dec 2001 the national government announced the • Contact: Vic Cockcroft,
expanded MPA. Centre for Dolphin Studies;
• MPA helps bring fishing in the area under sustainable management email: cdsresearch@
and protects diversity of ecosystems including pelagic waters, worldonline.co.za
coral reefs, sandy beaches, tidal flats, mangroves and swamp • More information, see
forests. web: http://ens.lycos.com/
• Nature tourism industry employs some 2600 locals and could ens/dec2001/2001Lexpand
with whale watching in future. The Endangered Wildlife 12-17-03.html
Trust (EWT), WWF and the South Africa Nature Foundation have
funded the Bazaruto Archipelago Master Plan (BAMP) project to
help guide the Mozambique government in developing
sustainable tourism.
• Research has started to determine resource inventory, distribution
and occurrence of dolphins and other marine fauna, as well as
impact of fisheries present in the bay.