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

398 Marine Protected Areas for Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises
which parallels the coast at roughly 100 mi (160 km) from land, just off the
continental shelf, plunges up to nearly 5 miles (8000 m) deep. In these deep
waters, sperm and beaked whales, as well as certain squid-loving pelagic
dolphins, can find abundant food.
The South American countries which form most of the region have agreed
to a UNEP regional seas programme which includes a strong marine and
protected area focus. The Convention for the Protection of the Marine
Environment and Coastal Areas of the South-East Pacific (CPPS) has agreed
to the Action Plan for Protection of the Marine Environment and Coastal
Areas of the Southeast Pacific (1981), which includes a protocol for the
conservation and administration of the coastal and marine protected areas of
the region, as well as to the Action Plan for the Conservation of Marine
Mammals in the Southeast Pacific (PNUMA, 1992). In the northern part of the
region, the countries of Central America, plus México, have formed a separate
association, signing the UNEP Convention for Cooperation in the Protection
and Sustainable Development of the Marine and Coastal Environment of the
Northeast Pacific (Antigua Convention).
In 1995, there was a total of 18 MPAs of all kinds in this marine region
(Hurtado, 1995). The region is divided into six biogeographic zones in the
coastal realm, three of which were represented by at least one MPA and the
rest of which have no representation. As of 2004, according to Table 5.21
prepared for this book, there are 17 existing and 4 proposed MPAs which
feature cetacean habitat. Three of the existing MPAs are proposed for
expansion.
There is one national cetacean sanctuary here: in the waters of Ecuador.
The region also includes a portion of a proposed international cetacean
sanctuary for the South Pacific, initiated through the IWC, which has yet to be
approved. It would serve as a sanctuary from whaling and could be a stepping
stone here towards greater protection and recognition of cetacean habitat
needs.
In 2000, marine mammal specialists at the VII Intergovernmental Meeting
of the Action Plan reviewed the available scientific information to support the
special declaration of a ‘whale corridor’ to protect large whales during the
breeding migration along the Southeast Pacific coast (CPPS, 2000). The
meeting, coordinated by the Southeast Pacific Action Plan office, did not find
enough information to recommend the declaration but concluded that country
members should promote studies in that direction.
The IUCN 2002–2010 Conservation Action Plan for the World’s Cetaceans
recommends a number of research and education initiatives for this region
(Reeves et al, 2003):
• to monitor interactions between fisheries and cetaceans in Chile;
• to assess illegal use of small cetaceans for crab bait in southern South
America (also for Marine Region 9);
• to investigate stock identity of endemic species in South America (also for
Marine Region 9);