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

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and educational opportunities, publishedmaterial, funding opportunities, reviews <strong>of</strong> toolsand technologies, sightings and strandingsinformation, species identification, and o<strong>the</strong>r topics<strong>of</strong> interest. The participants expressed a specialinterest in using <strong>the</strong> e-mail list to explore fur<strong>the</strong>r<strong>the</strong> feasibility <strong>of</strong> cooperative exchange <strong>of</strong> tools andtraining in <strong>the</strong> basics <strong>of</strong> genetic analysis.O<strong>the</strong>r suggestions included <strong>the</strong> establishment <strong>of</strong>centralized databases on species and habitats anda regional webpage on by-catch in fisheries. Thelatter is addressed fur<strong>the</strong>r in section 4.4 above. Itwas noted that WWF-US has announced its intentionto create an international webpage to disseminateinformation on assessment and mitigation <strong>of</strong>cetacean by-catch in fisheries.A regional organization, or society, was alsodiscussed, to include SE Asia, South Asia and EastAsia. Several attempts to start such a society havetaken place in recent years. Yaptinchay, Smith andHines agreed to look fur<strong>the</strong>r into this possibility,including investigating <strong>the</strong> status <strong>of</strong> an initiativeby Nobuyuki Miyazaki <strong>of</strong> Japan. It was tentativelyagreed to hold a planning/review session at <strong>the</strong>next Biennial Conference on <strong>the</strong> Biology <strong>of</strong> MarineMammals, to be held in North Carolina in 2003.Participants reiterated <strong>the</strong> importance <strong>of</strong> developingregional and national expertise in techniques for<strong>the</strong> study and conservation <strong>of</strong> marine mammals,as emphasized and detailed in <strong>the</strong> report <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>1995 conference (Perrin et al. 1996). A ten-daytraining workshop on marine mammal researchtechniques was conducted in February 2002, with22 students from throughout SE Asia and SouthAsia, at <strong>the</strong> Phuket Marine Biological Center inPhuket, Thailand. The sponsors <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> workshopincluded <strong>the</strong> Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)and <strong>the</strong> Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society(WDCS). The instructors included a number <strong>of</strong><strong>the</strong> participants in this workshop (Smith, Hines,Chantrapornsyl, and Kittiwatanawong). Pendingavailability <strong>of</strong> funds, <strong>the</strong>re are plans to revise andpublish a handbook written for <strong>the</strong> course (Smi<strong>the</strong>t al. 2002). Participants strongly recommendedfur<strong>the</strong>r such training workshops. The range <strong>of</strong>topics recommended in <strong>the</strong> report <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> 1995workshop should be expanded to include instructionin veterinary techniques used to determine cause<strong>of</strong> death, and training in <strong>the</strong> technologies <strong>of</strong> globalpositioning systems (GPS), geographic informationsystems (GIS) and remote sensing, as relevant.5.2 Review <strong>of</strong> Draft CMS AgreementThe group reviewed <strong>the</strong> draft regional agreementprovided in Doc. 2. A number <strong>of</strong> modificationswere discussed and incorporated into a reviseddraft (Appendix 7). These included expanding <strong>the</strong>scope to include dugongs, deletion <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> wordingon driftnets longer than 2.5 km but inclusion <strong>of</strong> aspecific caution on <strong>the</strong> use <strong>of</strong> driftnets, deletion <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>provision for legalizing <strong>the</strong> utilization <strong>of</strong> by-caughtanimals, recognition <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> importance <strong>of</strong> migratorycorridors, and requirement <strong>of</strong> collaboration withlocal communities in establishing protectedareas. Additional minor changes in wording weremade for clarity and completeness. A preambleto <strong>the</strong> agreement was discussed and added. Theparticipants agreed to call <strong>the</strong> draft agreement to<strong>the</strong> attention <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> fisheries agencies and o<strong>the</strong>rresponsible management and regulatory bodies in<strong>the</strong>ir respective countries.5.3 Funding MechanismsThe group had an informal discussion <strong>of</strong> possiblesources <strong>of</strong> funding for conservation research onsmall cetaceans and dugongs in SE Asia. A number<strong>of</strong> NGOs and private foundations were mentioned.<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 93
6. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONSThe workshop agreed to <strong>the</strong> following conclusionsand recommendations:6.1 By-catch1) By-catch <strong>of</strong> cetaceans and dugongs in fisheriesis a large and growing problem in SE Asia. Unlessthis problem is addressed in an immediate,aggressive manner, major losses <strong>of</strong> biodiversityare inevitable. Such losses are more than aes<strong>the</strong>ticor academic; <strong>the</strong>y eliminate future options forsustainable use, simplify ecosystem structure,and increase <strong>the</strong> risk <strong>of</strong> catastrophic declines inmarine productivity, with severe implications forfood security.2) A Regional Action Plan to address by-catch <strong>of</strong>small cetaceans and dugongs in SE Asia is bothfeasible and desirable. Such a plan should bedeveloped and implemented in a phased manner,beginning with a public awareness and educationphase.3) While valuable information on by-catchhas been obtained from rigorous interview/questionnaire studies, accurate assessment <strong>of</strong>by-catch levels is generally impossible withoutindependent on-board or site-based directobservation at a statistically appropriate scale.4) To complement data on by-catch, per se, itis important to develop accurate quantitativeinformation on characteristics <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> fishingindustry e.g., fleet size, temporal and spatialallocation <strong>of</strong> effort by gear type, etc. The table <strong>of</strong>data provided to <strong>the</strong> workshop by Australia (Table1) provides a good model.5) Some approaches to by-catch mitigation willneed to be fishery-specific, e.g., <strong>the</strong> matangquatro crab nets affecting Irrawaddy dolphins inMalampaya Sound, Philippines.6.2 Additional Conservation Threats1) The expansion <strong>of</strong> live-capture operationsdirected at vulnerable coastal and riverine smallcetaceans may be contributing to <strong>the</strong> depletion<strong>of</strong> some local populations. While it is recognizedthat exposure to cetaceans in captivity may havesome long term benefits, such as potentiallyraising public awareness regarding cetaceansand <strong>the</strong>ir conservation, <strong>the</strong> frequent claims bylive-capture proponents that <strong>the</strong>ir facilities areengaged in “captive breeding” for conservationare generally unfounded and misleading. (Aprovisional list <strong>of</strong> facilities holding smallcetaceans or dugongs in SE Asia is given inAppendix 8).2) “Tiger nets” set in movement passages inIndonesia pose a clear, undeniable threat topopulations <strong>of</strong> cetaceans and o<strong>the</strong>r large marineorganisms. Such nets are, by <strong>the</strong>ir very essence,highly damaging to <strong>the</strong> environment, and <strong>the</strong>iruse should be prohibited.3) The recent evidence linking military sonaractivities to lethal mass strandings <strong>of</strong> beakedwhales gives cause for concern about similaractivities in SE Asian waters. Some kind <strong>of</strong> riskassessment should be undertaken, and appropriatemitigation measures should be identified andimplemented.6.3 Regional Cooperation andEducation1) The 1995 workshop provided a useful stimulusto collaboration and cooperation in SE Asianmarine mammal research, and contributions to<strong>the</strong> 2002 workshop reflect <strong>the</strong> vast amount <strong>of</strong>new knowledge that has resulted. Among <strong>the</strong>94 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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Page 51 and 52: proactive in engaging more staff an
Page 53 and 54: of SE Asia. Two sp
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Page 73 and 74: Population/stock structureNo new in
Page 75 and 76: Needs for additional researchStock
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Page 81 and 82: Needs for additional researchProper
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Page 85 and 86: 3.1.7 AustraliaDugongs occur all al
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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
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Page 117 and 118: Doc. 22 Dugong conservation activit
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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
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Indonesia’s Cetacean Migration Co
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Conservation Effort to Protect <str
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The Status of <str
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Can the Developing
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Status and Conservation of<
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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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