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Impacts <strong>of</strong> Fishery By-catch on Cetaceans in Hong Kong WatersTorey, MientjeOcean Park Conservation Foundation, Ocean Park, Aberdeen, Hong Kong SAR, China;e-mail: opcf@oceanpark.com, website www.opcf.org.hkThe aim <strong>of</strong> this paper is to investigate impacts <strong>of</strong> fishery by-catch on cetaceans in Hong Kongwaters through interviews with local fishermen, stranding program records and literature review.The findings show that interactions between <strong>the</strong> fishermen and cetaceans occur not only in HongKong waters, but also in <strong>the</strong> South China Sea, as <strong>the</strong> majority <strong>of</strong> local fishermen also fish outsideHong Kong waters. Finless porpoises (Neophocaena phocaenoides), Indo-Pacific humpbackdolphins (Sousa chinensis) and unidentified “grey dolphin” species are <strong>the</strong> most commonlysighted and net-caught species in Hong Kong and nearby waters. Water depth <strong>of</strong> fishing groundsappears to be related to cetacean habitat, and affects level <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> interaction between differentcetacean species and fishermen.The threats from fishery by-catch faced by cetacean species in Hong Kong and nearby watershave been recorded since <strong>the</strong> early 1970s and still commonly occur. From <strong>the</strong> results <strong>of</strong> surveyquestionnaires and <strong>the</strong> stranding records, gillnet and trawl net entanglement is <strong>the</strong> major cause<strong>of</strong> death <strong>of</strong> cetaceans in Hong Kong and nearby waters. It is felt <strong>the</strong> numbers <strong>of</strong> net-causedmortalities are an underestimate due to <strong>the</strong> reluctance <strong>of</strong> fishermen to report any case <strong>of</strong> bycatchor stranding to authorities. In addition, cause <strong>of</strong> death for most stranded carcasses cannot bedetermined as <strong>the</strong> bodies are too decomposed. It is impossible to determine <strong>the</strong> actual number<strong>of</strong> incidental mortalities through <strong>the</strong> existing stranding program as <strong>the</strong> proportion <strong>of</strong> carcassesfrom by-catch that end up on <strong>the</strong> beach is unknown.An on-board observer program should be carried out to assess <strong>the</strong> true magnitude <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> by-catch<strong>of</strong> local cetaceans. Fishermen also should be encouraged to report by-catches and strandings<strong>of</strong> cetaceans without facing penalties for causing <strong>the</strong> by-catch, and should be prosecuted for notreporting by-catches.<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 155
Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) <strong>of</strong> Nan Wan and AdjacentWaters in Sou<strong>the</strong>rn TaiwanWang, John Y. 1 ; Yang, Shih-Chu 2(1) FormosaCetus Research & Conservation Group, 310-7250 Yonge St.,Thornhill, Ontario, Canada, L4J-7X1(2) FormosaCetus Research & Conservation Group, 5F-5, #78, Chung-Mei 13 Street,Hualien, Hualien County, TaiwanDuring a survey <strong>of</strong> cetaceans <strong>of</strong> sou<strong>the</strong>rn Taiwan in 2000, <strong>the</strong> first confirmed sightings <strong>of</strong> Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) at sea were recorded in Nan Wan (South Bay)and adjacent waters <strong>of</strong> sou<strong>the</strong>rn Taiwan. In 2001, <strong>the</strong> first long-term study <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Indo-Pacificbottlenose dolphin in Chinese waters was launched with <strong>the</strong> main goal <strong>of</strong> increasing ourknowledge <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> biology <strong>of</strong> this poorly known coastal species (which has experienced substantialexploitation in <strong>the</strong> recent past). Data were collected from a small research vessel and threeland-based platforms. By combining data from 2001 and 2000, some preliminary but importantinsights into <strong>the</strong>se dolphins were gained. The preliminary estimate <strong>of</strong> abundance and density <strong>of</strong><strong>the</strong>se dolphins in sou<strong>the</strong>rn Taiwan was very low (about 24 individuals in <strong>the</strong> study area <strong>of</strong> about85 km 2 ). Of <strong>the</strong>se dolphins, nine individuals were identified from distinct characteristics (e.g.,shape, scars, pigmentation) <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir dorsal fins. O<strong>the</strong>r preliminary findings on <strong>the</strong> movement,distribution and behaviour <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se dolphins will be presented with discussions about <strong>the</strong> humanthreats in <strong>the</strong> region, conservation implications and future research plans.156 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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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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from SE Asia, it is known to occur
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3.1.7 AustraliaDugongs occur all al
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Table 8. Conservation objectives id
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3) Monitoring and assessment <stron
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Table 10. Outline of</stron
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The group agreed that this set <str
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6. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONSThe works
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Bank, E. 1931. A popular account <s
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Dalebout, M. L., J. G. Mead, C. Sco
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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 and 134: APPENDIX 9Abstracts of</str
Page 135 and 136: The (IUCN Critically Endangered) Du
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: Legal Hunting of C
Page 159 and 160: Feasibility Study of</stron
Page 161 and 162: Songs of a Humpbac
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