The First International Conference on Marine Mammal Protected Areas

Cetacean critical habitats in Bangladesh: the Protected Area Network for Cetacean Diversity
(PANCD) – the first proposed protected area network for cetaceans in Asia
Rubaiyat Mansur Mowgli
• <strong>The</strong> Sundarbans area contains the world’s largest mangrove forest and is home
to an abundance of cetaceans, including the world’s largest known population of
Irrawaddy dolphins. Of particular importance is the deep-water canyon offshore
(“Swatch of No Ground”), an upwelling area that appears to be a “hotspot” for
cetaceans, seabirds, and fish.
• <strong>The</strong> proposed network includes habitat – inshore mangrove creeks, coastal
shallows, and a deep offshore area – for at least seven cetacean species. A
potential transboundary protected area will require considerable work to forge
political agreements with India.
• <strong>The</strong> goals of PANCD are to conserve cetaceans but also to integrate the needs of
local communities into planning. This is being attempted by building local
capacity, conducting educational outreach, providing assistance to fishermen, and
using adaptive management concepts.
• <strong>The</strong>re was strong agreement in the workshop that the approach taken in
Bangladesh could serve as a model for cetacean conservation in other parts of
South Asia.
Assessing habitat use of Hawaiian odontocetes using sighting surveys and satellite tracking
Robin Baird
• Multi-species cetacean surveys are carried out using small boats for photoidentification,
genetic sampling, and satellite tagging. Two species that are among
those most at risk in Hawai‘i but which are encountered only infrequently were
highlighted: Blainville’s beaked whale and the false killer whale. <strong>The</strong> threats that
the populations of these species face differ. Small, resident, island-associated
populations of both species exist around the main Hawaiian Islands, and distinct
offshore populations are also found in the region.
• Because both island-associated and offshore populations overlap in range,
designating critical habitat for the small, island-associated populations requires
more than just density information: photo-identification or genetics need to be
incorporated in order to determine which population is being studied.
• Comparisons of habitat use as assessed from small-boat surveys and from
satellite tagging revealed substantial differences for both species. Satellite tagging
reduces the spatial biases associated with survey effort due to sea conditions or
distance from ports, and provides unbiased information on movement patterns,
which is critical for assessing extent of overlap with areas of potentially harmful
activities such as fishing and naval sonar use.
• In follow-up discussion on methodological issues, it was noted that a variety of
techniques is sometimes needed to answer questions concerning cetacean habitat
use.
ICMMPA <strong>Conference</strong> Proceedings
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