pacific islands report_NU.indd - Whale and Dolphin Conservation ...

7. KiribatiLand Area (km 2 ): 811Sea Area (EEZ) (thousands of km 2 ): 3,550The 33 atolls that make up Kiribati - the formerGilbert Islands - occupy a vast area in the Pacific. Theystretch nearly 4000 km from east to west, more than2000 km from north to south, and span the Equator.The State of the Environment report for Kiribati(Wilson 1994) listed five species as occurring withinthe EEZ: Fraser’s dolphin, spinner dolphin, blue whale,southern right whale, and sperm whale. Recentreports indicate that spinner dolphins are present inboth the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands (Reeves etal. 1999, Stone et al. 2001). The first record of Fraser’sdolphin in the central Pacific occurred within Kiribatiwaters northeast of the Phoenix Islands along theequator (Perrin et al. 1973). The presence of Fraser’sdolphin has also been indicated by Miyazaki and Wada(1978) and within the UNEP-WCMC (2003). Quitea number of whaling records indicate that spermwhalers were active in Kiribati waters – particularlyalong the equator or ‘along the line’ as it is oftenreferred (see Lever 1964, Reeves et al. 1999). MoreScientific NameCommon NameGlobicephala macrorhynchusShort-finned pilot whaleLagenodelphis hoseiFraser’s dolphinOrcinus orcaOrcaStenella attenuataPantropical spotted dolphinStenella longirostrisSpinner dolphinSteno bredanensisRough-toothed dolphinTursiops sp.Bottlenose dolphinPhyseter macrocephalusSperm whaleHyperoodon planifronsSouthern bottlenose whaleRecords of Cetaceans in the Waters of KiribatiCitationPatterson and Alverson 1986, Odyssey logbook report 2000 2Perrin et al. 1973, Miyazaki and Wada 1986, Wilson 1994, UNEP-WCMC2003Miyashita et al. 1995 2Perrin 1975, Reeves et al. 1999 2Wilson 1994, Reeves et al. 1999, Stone et al. 2001 1Miyazaki and Perrin 1994 2Patterson and Alverson 1986, Reeves et al. 1999, Stone et al. 2001 1Lever 1964, Patterson and Alverson 1986, Eldredge 1991, Wilson 1994,Dufault and Whitehead 1995, Reeves et al. 1999Wade and Gerrodette 1993, Reeves et al. 1999 2Unconfirmed Species11ClassBalaenoptera musculus, Blue whale (Wilson 1994)Eubalaena australis, Southern right whale (Wilson 1994)Mesoplodon densirostris, Blainville’s beaked whale (Odyssey logbook report 2000)Peponocephala electra, Melon-headed whale (Reeves et al. 1999)Pseudorca crassidens, False killer whale (Reeves et al. 1999)Stenella coeruleoalba, Striped dolphin (Reeves et al. 1999)Ziphius cavirostris, Cuvier’s beaked whale (Reeves et al. 1999)44 CURRENT STATE OF KNOWLEDGE OF CETACEAN THREATS, DIVERSITY, AND HABITATS IN THE PACIFIC ISLANDS REGION