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aquaculture and manufacturing. There is growingconcern about <strong>the</strong> production <strong>of</strong> large amounts<strong>of</strong> waste. The development <strong>of</strong> shrimp farms insome areas is difficult to control and leads toimpacts on coastal habitats. It may cause seriousproblems for Irrawaddy dolphins, especially inSongkhla Lake due to <strong>the</strong> very shallow water and<strong>the</strong> flushing by <strong>the</strong> sea.Illegal fishing with trawls and pushnets within3,000 meters <strong>of</strong> shore is a major problem (seebelow). It destroys <strong>the</strong> feeding and breedinggrounds <strong>of</strong> many coastal species. However, <strong>the</strong>impacts on <strong>the</strong> environment <strong>of</strong> cetaceans has notyet been studied.Directed catchesDirected catches <strong>of</strong> cetaceans and dugong areprohibited under regulations <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Department<strong>of</strong> Fisheries (Protection and Conservation <strong>of</strong>Wild Animals Law, 1992). However, captures<strong>of</strong> humpback and Irrawaddy dolphins for Thaiaquaria began in <strong>the</strong> mid-1980s and apparentlyhave continued in recent years. The effects <strong>of</strong><strong>the</strong>se on <strong>the</strong> potentially small populations areunknown. It has been recommended by PMBCthat <strong>the</strong> government monitor <strong>the</strong> captures andholding conditions; <strong>the</strong> participants endorsed thisrecommendation.By-catchesCoastal cetaceans and dugongs are vulnerable toby-catch in artisanal fishing gear. The population<strong>of</strong> Irrawaddy dolphins in Songkhla Lake has beenseriously depleted as a result <strong>of</strong> by-catch in gillnetsand set nets. Finless porpoises occasionallyare found entangled in coastal gillnets. Littleinformation on incidental catches <strong>of</strong> cetaceansand dugong is obtained, due to lack <strong>of</strong> cooperationby fishermen.Legal status and present managementarrangementThe first act to protect <strong>the</strong> dugong and o<strong>the</strong>rendangered species was <strong>the</strong> Fisheries Act <strong>of</strong>1974. This act also prohibits trawlers and push-netboats from operating within 3,000 meters <strong>of</strong> shore,in order to secure <strong>the</strong> breeding grounds <strong>of</strong> marinelife. However, enforcement <strong>of</strong> this provision hasproven difficult. Violators can be punished onlywhen <strong>the</strong>y are directly observed to be engagedin illegal operations. Thailand adhered to <strong>the</strong>Convention on International Trade in EndangeredSpecies (CITES) in 1983. Some <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> species<strong>of</strong> cetaceans occurring in Thailand are in CITESAppendix I. The Protection and Conservation <strong>of</strong>Wild Animals Law <strong>of</strong> 1992 consists <strong>of</strong> 1) Act No.16 —prohibition <strong>of</strong> hunting or catching protectedanimals, 2) Act No. 19—prohibition <strong>of</strong> possessingprotected animals or <strong>the</strong>ir carcasses, and 3) ActNo. 20—prohibition <strong>of</strong> trade in protected animalsFolk attitudes and interaction with marinemammalsThais traditionally do not eat cetaceans. MostThai fishermen consider dolphins to be friends. Afolk story claims that a dolphin saved a fishermanfrom drowning. Some villagers use <strong>the</strong> presence<strong>of</strong> dolphins to predict <strong>the</strong> wea<strong>the</strong>r, i.e. when <strong>the</strong>ysee dolphins swimming to a river mouth, <strong>the</strong>yexpect a storm to come soon. The presence <strong>of</strong>dolphins is believed to be an indication <strong>of</strong> highabundance <strong>of</strong> fish in <strong>the</strong> area.Most Thai people believe that giant or wondrousanimals have special powers, and <strong>the</strong>y have greatrespect for such animals. When <strong>the</strong>y find a deadstranded animal <strong>the</strong>y <strong>of</strong>ten attempt to collect<strong>the</strong> bones, especially teeth and <strong>the</strong> lower jaw,for making potions. This creates a problem forscientific specimen collection; <strong>the</strong> important parts<strong>of</strong> many specimens are removed by local peoplebefore researchers arrive on <strong>the</strong> scene.<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 63
Recently, <strong>the</strong> campaign to conserve dolphinsand whales has been extended widely to <strong>the</strong>public. Laws and regulations for protectingcetaceans have been publicized, including <strong>the</strong>fact that catch and consumption <strong>of</strong> cetacean meatare prohibited. Those by-caught animals that arereported to a Provincial Fisheries Officer areeventually transported to <strong>the</strong> cetacean project at<strong>the</strong> Phuket Marine Biological Center.Description <strong>of</strong> existing research programOnly a few institutes conduct marine mammalresearch in Thailand:4) Lam Pam Fisheries Station, PhattulungProvince. In association with <strong>the</strong> ForestryDepartment, this fisheries station since 2000 hasprovided logistical support for research on <strong>the</strong>Irrawaddy dolphins inhabiting Songkhla Lake. Theproject has included boat surveys, interviews<strong>of</strong> local fishermen, collection <strong>of</strong> stranded andby-caught dolphins, and public education andawareness programs targeting school childrenand local communities.A number <strong>of</strong> additional institutions now housecollections <strong>of</strong> marine mammals in Thailand:1) The Marine Endangered Species Unit, PhuketMarine Biological Center. The research activitiesare to document <strong>the</strong> species present in Thailand,to promote cetacean awareness by <strong>the</strong> public,to identify fisheries that take marine mammals,and to investigate areas and identify vulnerablespecies in order to implemented managementpolicies. Boat surveys have been conducted insome specific areas. An international trainingcourse on marine mammal research techniqueswas provided for researchers and Government<strong>of</strong>ficers. Age determination and examination <strong>of</strong>stomach contents <strong>of</strong> dugong were carried out.An attempt was made to establish a strandingnetwork and a health-care center for marineanimals in <strong>the</strong> Center. More than 200 strandedwhales and dolphins and at least 120 dugongswere collected and <strong>the</strong> skeletons deposited in <strong>the</strong>collection.1) (NHCU) Natural History Museum,Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok2) (KUMF) Kasetsart University Museum, Faculty<strong>of</strong> Fisheries, KU, Bangkok3) (NICA) National Institute <strong>of</strong> CoastalAquaculture, Songkhla4) (PMBC) Phuket Marine Biological Center,Phuket5) (NHM) National History Museum, Bangkok6) (EMDEC) Eastern Marine FisheriesDevelopment Center, Rayong7) (OFD) Oceanic Fisheries Division,Samutprakhan2) Sea Turtle Conservation Station, Man-naiIsland, Rayong Province. Only very limitedresearch projects on marine mammals have beencarried due to lack <strong>of</strong> manpower and budgetsupport.3) Bangsan Institute <strong>of</strong> Marine Science, BuraphaUniversity, Cholburi Province. Only strandedspecimens have been collected.8) (CNP) Chaomai National Park, Trang9) (SNHM) Songkhla National History Museum,SongkhlaIn addition, <strong>the</strong>re are marine mammal specimensin many Buddhist Temples situated near <strong>the</strong>coastline. Also, local fishery stations and some64 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
Page 11 and 12:
10 CMS Technical Series Publication
Page 13 and 14: The cetacean species reviewed inclu
Page 15 and 16: Table 1. Major commercial Commonwea
Page 17 and 18: (2) State Legislation.In state wate
Page 19 and 20: (2) Identification of</stro
Page 21 and 22: Coastal speciesThe most frequently
Page 23 and 24: Coastal speciesThere are currently
Page 25 and 26: and Guangxi Provinces (Yang et al.
Page 27 and 28: Table 3. Records of</strong
Page 29 and 30: can be viewed as the</stron
Page 31 and 32: Workshop participa
Page 33 and 34: ioaccumulation have not yet been ex
Page 35 and 36: of fishermen who h
Page 37 and 38: are supplied to scholars and organi
Page 39 and 40: threats. Many marine mammal populat
Page 42: waters or recognize important inter
Page 47 and 48: James Cook University (Queensland,
Page 49 and 50: the last ten years
Page 51 and 52: proactive in engaging more staff an
Page 53 and 54: of SE Asia. Two sp
Page 55 and 56: San Francisco (Negros Oriental); Li
Page 57 and 58: Legal status and present management
Page 59 and 60: within 15 kilometers from t
Page 61 and 62: US, has actively participated in ce
Page 63: the project was su
Page 67 and 68: Mekong River downstream of<
Page 69 and 70: porpoises in tropical waters <stron
Page 71 and 72: species in the Ind
Page 73 and 74: Population/stock structureNo new in
Page 75 and 76: Needs for additional researchStock
Page 77 and 78: waters of SE Asia,
Page 79 and 80: caused mortality is certainly large
Page 81 and 82: Needs for additional researchProper
Page 83 and 84: from SE Asia, it is known to occur
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
Page 91 and 92: Table 10. Outline of</stron
Page 93 and 94: The group agreed that this set <str
Page 95 and 96: 6. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONSThe works
Page 97 and 98: 96 CMS Technical Series Publication
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
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APPENDIX 3Agenda1. Preliminaries2.
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Doc. 22 Dugong conservation activit
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AreaDatesSurveyTypeEffortSpeciesNo.
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Phase ofActionPlan
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[Small cetaceans are defined to inc
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f) recognizing that by-catch in fis
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130 CMS Technical Series Publicatio
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APPENDIX 9Abstracts of</str
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The (IUCN Critically Endangered) Du
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Status of
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Cetacean Habitats in the</s
Page 141 and 142:
Conservation of <s
Page 143 and 144:
Summary of Current
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Indonesia’s Cetacean Migration Co
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Conservation Effort to Protect <str
Page 149 and 150:
The Status of <str
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Can the Developing
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Status and Conservation of<
Page 155 and 156:
Legal Hunting of C
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Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphins (T
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Feasibility Study of</stron
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Songs of a Humpbac
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