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

Palawan and <strong>the</strong> Sulu Archipelago in 1995 (Perrinet al. 1996).By-catchesFor small cetaceans and <strong>the</strong> dugong, entanglementin fishing gear is <strong>the</strong> predominant threat. Cetaceansand dugongs are by-caught in many kinds <strong>of</strong> fishinggear in both commercial and municipal fisheries,such as baby ringnet, bagnet, beach seine, setgillnet, bottom longline, castnet, crabtrap, driftgillnet (pamo, palaran), drift longline, drivenet,fish corral, flying fish net, stationary liftnet, twoboatlift net, purse-seine, shark net, and troll line;<strong>the</strong>y also die as a result <strong>of</strong> illegal fishing practicessuch as blast fishing (Doc. 14, 19, 28, 29; Alava1995, 1999; Alava and Dolar 1995; Dolar 1999a, b,c; Dolar et al 1997; Calvelo 1995; Dolar 1990, 1994;Dolar et al. 1994; Aragones 1995; Dolar and Wood1993; Alava et al. 1993; Dolar 1990; Lea<strong>the</strong>rwood etal. 1992).There are no total estimates <strong>of</strong> by-catch in all<strong>the</strong>se fisheries. An initial assessment <strong>of</strong> incidentaltakes from purse seining and driftnet operationsin three villages in 1991-92 estimated about 600dolphins killed; and an estimate for commercialand municipal purse seiners in 1990 operatingin <strong>the</strong> eastern Sulu Sea was between 2,000-3,000 dolphins (Dolar 1994). By-catch data fromcommercial tuna purse seining generated by EarthIsland Institute (EII) from 1992-1996 are still to beprocessed. It was noted, however, that EII’s onboardmonitoring program discouraged incidentalkills and thus reported numbers may be lower thanduring normal fishing operations (Doc. 17, andreported by Concepcion).Earth Island Institute (EII) has been involved incetacean conservation in <strong>the</strong> Philippines since1992. Currently, <strong>the</strong>y issue certificates for dolphinfreetuna involving 11 canneries and focus on <strong>the</strong>prevention <strong>of</strong> dolphin by-catch in large purse-seineoperations in <strong>the</strong> Philippines.Most by-catches recorded have been in driftnetsand ringnets (Dolar 1999c). Driftnet by-catch wasreported in Malabuhan, Siaton (Negros Oriental),Bauang and Sto. Tomas (La Union), Jagna (Bohol),Limasawa (sou<strong>the</strong>rn Leyte) (Dolar et al. 1994; Dolarand Wood 1993; Alava et al. 1993). According toAlava, driftnet fisheries have been reported in manyadditional areas in <strong>the</strong> country including fishingvillages in Caramoan and Pasacao (CamarinesSur), Catarman (Camiguin province), Gingoog City,Magsaysay, Medina (Misamis Oriental), SurigaoCity (Surigao del Norte).Preliminary results <strong>of</strong> WWF/BFAR-NSAP’srapid assessments (RAP) in 11 regions showedprevalence <strong>of</strong> cetacean by-catch fisheries in atleast 67% <strong>of</strong> 105 fishing villages visited (Doc. 28,29). With <strong>the</strong> burgeoning shark fishery, by-caughtspecies, as well as strandings, are opportunisticallytargeted for use as bait. Presence <strong>of</strong> fishing gearsdirected at large pelagic sharks (e.g., long line)is taken as an indicator <strong>of</strong> presence <strong>of</strong> cetaceanfisheries in an area. An <strong>of</strong>f-shoot <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> cetaceanby-catch research by WWF Philippines is <strong>the</strong>assessment <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> status <strong>of</strong> cetacean-elasmobranchfisheries interactions in priority sites.By-caught species identified include bottlenose,Risso’s, spinner, pantropical spotted, Fraser’s, andIrrawaddy dolphins (Dolar 1999c; Doc. 28). Whenby-caught alive <strong>the</strong> dolphins were more <strong>of</strong>tenreleased, while dead ones are consumed as food.Despite its prevalence, <strong>the</strong> cetacean by-catchproblem is as yet unquantified because <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>relative absence <strong>of</strong> standardized documentationand <strong>of</strong> accurate data collection on fishing fleetoperational dynamics. This is fur<strong>the</strong>r complicatedby <strong>the</strong> small scale and dispersed nature <strong>of</strong> most<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> fisheries. It is difficult to make a statisticalinference on how many cetaceans and dugongsare targeted and/or taken accidentally by <strong>the</strong>marine capture fishery sector annually (Doc. 29).<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 55