Dolphins, Whales and Porpoises: 2002-2010 Conservation - IUCN

monitoring will be essential for gauging the success of
ecosystem/community-based conservation approaches currently
being implemented by WWF-Philippines.
4. Evaluate the status and levels of mortality of
small and medium-sized cetaceans in Taiwan
The Wildlife Conservation Law of Taiwan was amended in
August 1990 to prohibit the killing or disturbance of cetaceans
and the possession or sale of their body parts (Chou in
IWC 1994a, p.110). This legislation, while laudable in
theory, has driven exploitative activities underground and
hampered research. Although no systematic monitoring has
been conducted, direct observations and anecdotal information
suggest that cetacean mortality from deliberate exploitation
and entanglement in gillnets is high, probably on
the order of several thousands of animals per year along the
east coast alone (J.Y. Wang, pers. comm.). Although considerable
progress has been made toward documenting the
occurrence and distribution of cetaceans in the waters of
eastern Taiwan (Yang et al. 1999), there is a need for better
documentation in other coastal areas. This can be accomplished,
in part, by strengthening the existing stranding network
and conducting at-sea surveys.
Protective legislation in Taiwan should be reviewed and,
if necessary, modified to ensure that there are no regulatory
impediments to bonafide research. A rigorous monitoring
effort is needed to assess the scale of deliberate exploitation
of cetaceans and fishery bycatch. One approach might be to
conduct frequent but unannounced visits to fish-landing
sites and marketing centers. Another component should be
the placement of observers on-board fishing vessels, especially
gillnetters. Training courses for local scientists to
carry out these activities must be an integral component of
this project.
5. Investigate and monitor the status of finless
porpoises in the Yangtze River
As summarized in Chapter 4, survey data and the qualitative
observations of Chinese scientists strongly suggest that the
finless porpoise population in the Yangtze River has been
declining rapidly in recent decades. Nevertheless, data on
trends are not definitive. Comparisons between surveys are
confounded by uncertainties related to methodological differences
or problems in design and analysis. Efforts to
conserve Yangtze finless porpoises would benefit from statistically
robust estimates of abundance and trends.
This project should establish a consistent and affordable
survey protocol for use by Chinese researchers, followed by
a series of surveys. Surveys need to be consistent not only in
their methodology, but also in their coverage and sighting
conditions (Smith and Reeves 2000c). Special attention
should be paid to trends in porpoise distribution (seasonal
and annual) and to habitat features, using quantitative
criteria. Acoustic methods might prove useful for
supplementing visual search effort and interpreting results
(Akamatsu et al. 2001; Goold and Jefferson 2002). Researchers
studying finless porpoises in Hong Kong waters
have employed an inexpensive, easy-to-use, automatic
porpoise detector to help correct for sighting biases (T.A.
Jefferson, pers. comm.), and such a device might be adapted
for use in surveys of the Yangtze as well.
6. Investigate the feasibility of establishing a
natural reserve for finless porpoises in and
near Dongting Lake or Poyang Lake, China
Yangtze finless porpoises are sympatric with the critically
endangered baiji and face similar threats (Reeves et al.
2000a). Although recent studies suggest a dramatic decline
in abundance of finless porpoises, densities are said to
remain relatively high in the mouths of Poyang and
Dongting lakes. The Xin Luo Natural Baiji Reserve is a
135km segment of the Yangtze, centered at Honghu City
and stretching upriver to a point about 20km below the
mouth of Dongting Lake. Chinese scientists have proposed
that the reserve be expanded to include finless porpoises and
that its border be extended upstream to encompass the
mouth of Dongting Lake. Finless porpoises are also frequently
sighted in Poyang Lake around the mouth of the
Gan River, near a proposed Siberian crane sanctuary in
Wucheng (J. Barzen, pers. comm.)
This project should investigate the feasibility of establishing
a protected area for finless porpoises in Dongting
Lake or Poyang Lake and adjacent waters. It should include
surveys to assess porpoise density during different water
stages, investigations of porpoise behavior and ecology to
ensure that a reserve would contribute to their conservation,
and an analysis of the potential for enforcing protective
regulations if such a reserve were to be established. If
establishing a natural reserve that provides meaningful protection
for finless porpoises is found to be feasible, a consultation
process will need to be undertaken and a
management plan will have to be developed for it.
7. Establish a marine mammal stranding network
in China
China has an extensive coastline and a range of climatic
conditions, from tropical in the Gulf of Tonkin to cool
temperate in the Yellow and Bohai seas. Although there has
been a great deal of research on populations of dolphins and
finless porpoises in the Yangtze River, little work has been
conducted on marine cetaceans. Even questions as basic as
which species occur along the Chinese coasts and in offshore
waters remain largely unaddressed (Zhou et al. 1995).
China’s extensive fishing fleets use gear, such as gill and
trawl nets, known to kill cetaceans. Preliminary research
indicates that the incidental catch of some small cetaceans,
especially finless porpoises, is high (Zhou and Wang 1994;
Parsons and Wang 1998). However, with the exception of
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