Report of the Second Workshop on The Biology and Conservation of ...

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Conservation Status and Management <strong>of</strong> Marine Mammals in Riverine andCoastal Waters <strong>of</strong> CambodiaBeasley, I.L. 1, 2 ; Davidson, P. 1 ; Phay Somany 3 ; Marsh, H. 2 ; Arnold, P.W. 4 ;(1) Wildlife Conservation Society, P.O. Box 1620, Phnom Penh, Cambodia; e-mail: ibeasley@wcs.org(2) School <strong>of</strong> Tropical Environment Studies and Geography, James Cook University, Townsville,Queensland, 4811, Australia.(3) Department <strong>of</strong> Fisheries, 186 Norodom Blvd, Phnom Penh, Cambodia(4) Museum <strong>of</strong> Tropical Queensland, 70-102 Flinders Street, Townsville, Queensland, 4810, AustraliaThe first dedicated research project investigating marine mammals <strong>of</strong> Cambodia was initiated by<strong>the</strong> Wildlife Conservation Society, in collaboration with <strong>the</strong> Cambodian Department <strong>of</strong> Fisheriesand James Cook University. The project consists <strong>of</strong> boat and interview surveys in <strong>the</strong> upperreaches <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Cambodian Mekong River and also throughout Cambodian coastal waters.This research indicates that <strong>the</strong> Cambodian Mekong River Irrawaddy Dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris)population is small (with <strong>the</strong> total population possibly as low as 100 individuals) and restrictedin range (at least during <strong>the</strong> dry season) to <strong>the</strong> upper 190 km from Kratie to <strong>the</strong> Lao/Cambodianborder. Four dedicated surveys have been conducted over this stretch <strong>of</strong> river (a total <strong>of</strong> 914km <strong>of</strong> survey effort during 82.4 hours). Although a number <strong>of</strong> threats have been identified, bycatchin local gillnet fisheries appears to be <strong>the</strong> most significant current threat to <strong>the</strong> population’ssurvival.Dedicated boat-based marine mammal coastal surveys were conducted from February toSeptember 2001, totalling 203.8 hours <strong>of</strong> survey time, covering a total distance <strong>of</strong> 2058 km. Eightcetacean species were sighted (six <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se new cetacean records for Cambodia). Evidence <strong>of</strong>remnant Dugong (Dugong dugon) populations within Cambodian waters were obtained through<strong>the</strong> retrieval <strong>of</strong> fresh carcasses and from accounts <strong>of</strong> fishermen who continue to target <strong>the</strong> speciesfor medicinal and consumption purposes. The o<strong>the</strong>r threats to Cambodian marine mammalsinclude; habitat degradation, direct takes for aquaria, by-catch in subsistence and commercialfisheries and over-fishing <strong>of</strong> prey species.The results <strong>of</strong> this research have provided baseline data for future research and conservationefforts on marine mammals in Cambodia. Management actions will be difficult to implementand enforce. However, strategies will be developed and undertaken in collaboration withlocal government departments and through community-based consultation and managementprograms.<strong>Second</strong> <strong>Workshop</strong> on <strong>the</strong> Biology and Conservation <strong>of</strong> Small Cetaceans and Dugongs <strong>of</strong> SE Asia 133
The (IUCN Critically Endangered) Dugongs (Dugong dugon) <strong>of</strong> Hinatuan,Surigao del Sur, Mindanao, PhilippinesBryne, RowanCentre for Empowerment & Resource Development Inc. (CERD), and Voluntary Service Overseas,Philippines, (VSOP)Modern records support <strong>the</strong> presence <strong>of</strong> dugongs (Dugong dugon) in Hinatuan as far back as1950, but <strong>the</strong>y most likely inhabited <strong>the</strong> area even before this date. Over <strong>the</strong> past several decades,dugong numbers have slowly decreased due to (1) illegal fishing techniques such as, dynamite& cyanide fishing; (2) <strong>the</strong> extensive uncontrolled use <strong>of</strong> fish corrals and illegal mesh size fishingin protected areas; and (3) illegal over - expansion <strong>of</strong> fish ponds.For decades, <strong>the</strong> DENR (Department for Environment and Natural Resources) assumed <strong>the</strong>population was extinct in Surigao As a result, no new endeavours were initiated to protect orpreserve this endangered species in <strong>the</strong> Surigao del Sur region. My initial research indicates that,in <strong>the</strong> Surigao region, dugongs can only be found in Hinatuan. They appear to be extinct in <strong>the</strong>surrounding areas <strong>of</strong> Surigao del Sur ,with unconfirmed recent reports in Sairgao Island, Surigaodel Norte.In April 2001, a baby dugong was killed in a fish corral accident, and after conducting interviewswith local people, I found that 2 o<strong>the</strong>r baby dugongs had been killed in <strong>the</strong> last 6 months. Icontacted national governmental agencies and <strong>the</strong> World Wildlife Fund For Nature (WWF), whoacknowledged that <strong>the</strong>y were unaware <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> presence <strong>of</strong> dugongs in <strong>the</strong> Hinatuan area, andstated that <strong>the</strong>y had terminated recent surveys 200 Km south <strong>of</strong> Hinatuan area, thus missing <strong>the</strong>whole area.From October 2000 to June 2002, six (6) baby dugongs have been killed and two sub adults,and one tagged and released by fishermen, all in Hinatuan municipal waters. This is strongevidence that ei<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong> population did not go extinct, or that <strong>the</strong> area has been re-populated inrecent years. But, with 5 infants killed in <strong>the</strong> past year, and increasing fishing intensity, is <strong>the</strong>rehope for continued recovery? At present <strong>the</strong> future is bleak for this majestic loveable creature.Only conservation on both local and international level can save dugongs from extinction.134 CMS Technical Series Publication Nº 9 - 2005
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CMS Technical Series Publication N
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Published by the U
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TABLE OF CONTENTSpage1. Preliminari
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AppendicesAppendix 1 - List <strong
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8 CMS Technical Series Publication
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10 CMS Technical Series Publication
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The cetacean species reviewed inclu
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Table 1. Major commercial Commonwea
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(2) State Legislation.In state wate
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(2) Identification of</stro
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Coastal speciesThe most frequently
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Coastal speciesThere are currently
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and Guangxi Provinces (Yang et al.
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Table 3. Records of</strong
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can be viewed as the</stron
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Workshop participa
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ioaccumulation have not yet been ex
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of fishermen who h
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are supplied to scholars and organi
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threats. Many marine mammal populat
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waters or recognize important inter
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James Cook University (Queensland,
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the last ten years
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proactive in engaging more staff an
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of SE Asia. Two sp
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San Francisco (Negros Oriental); Li
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Legal status and present management
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within 15 kilometers from t
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US, has actively participated in ce
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the project was su
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Recently, the camp
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Mekong River downstream of<
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porpoises in tropical waters <stron
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species in the Ind
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Population/stock structureNo new in
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Needs for additional researchStock
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waters of SE Asia,
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caused mortality is certainly large
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Needs for additional researchProper
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Page 85 and 86: 3.1.7 AustraliaDugongs occur all al
Page 87 and 88: Table 8. Conservation objectives id
Page 89 and 90: 3) Monitoring and assessment <stron
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Page 93 and 94: The group agreed that this set <str
Page 95 and 96: 6. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONSThe works
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Page 99 and 100: Bank, E. 1931. A popular account <s
Page 101 and 102: Dalebout, M. L., J. G. Mead, C. Sco
Page 103 and 104: Jaaman, S. A., E. Tangon, I. Isnain
Page 105 and 106: Lin, Y.-J. 1997. Mitochondrial DNA
Page 107 and 108: Smith, B.D., T. A. Jefferson, D. Ho
Page 109 and 110: Yang, W.-C. 2000. Morbillivirus inf
Page 111 and 112: CHOU Lien-SiangDepartment o
Page 113 and 114: Brian D. SMITHWildlife Conservation
Page 115 and 116: APPENDIX 3Agenda1. Preliminaries2.
Page 117 and 118: Doc. 22 Dugong conservation activit
Page 119 and 120: AreaDatesSurveyTypeEffortSpeciesNo.
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Page 129 and 130: f) recognizing that by-catch in fis
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Page 133: APPENDIX 9Abstracts of</str
Page 137 and 138: Status of
Page 139 and 140: Cetacean Habitats in the</s
Page 141 and 142: Conservation of <s
Page 143 and 144: Summary of Current
Page 145 and 146: Indonesia’s Cetacean Migration Co
Page 147 and 148: Conservation Effort to Protect <str
Page 149 and 150: The Status of <str
Page 151 and 152: Can the Developing
Page 153 and 154: Status and Conservation of<
Page 155 and 156: Legal Hunting of C
Page 157 and 158: Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphins (T
Page 159 and 160: Feasibility Study of</stron
Page 161 and 162: Songs of a Humpbac
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