The First International Conference on Marine Mammal Protected Areas

address the bycatch issue, and the fact that illegal fishing operations were
involved.
• After a year of negotiations with relevant authorities for emergency measures, a
provincial law (No. 2582) was passed in July 2001 declaring Commerson’s
dolphin to be a Provincial Natural Monument (the highest possible protection
status). This gave the local resident dolphin populations protection from
deliberate capture, but the province does not have regulatory authority over
gillnet fisheries.
• In September 2001, based on the incidental catch levels of Commerson’s
dolphins and seabirds in previous years, the Subsecretariat of Fishing and Port
Activities issued regulations (Disposition No. 195) that prohibit fishing with
passive nets in certain areas between 1 October and 7 December. A few years
later, the problem at La Angelina beach was “solved” when a farmer decided to
close the passage needed by fishermen to reach and operate in the area where
Commerson’s dolphin bycatches were concentrated.
• <strong>The</strong> search has continued for solutions that would allow fishing to proceed
without resulting in the deaths of Commerson’s dolphins. This search for lowerrisk
or alternative fishing methods promises to benefit other species besides the
Commerson dolphin (e.g., Magellanic penguin and great grebe). Genetic analyses
indicate that a precautionary approach to management of the Commerson’s
dolphin bycatch would be to recognize three relatively isolated management
units: Ría Gallegos–La Angelina, Bahía San Julián, and Ría Deseado.
During the process outlined above, a major crisis erupted when a television station used
the dolphin bycatch issue to “attack” the affected fishing sector. <strong>The</strong>refore, this case
study indicates the need to manage the mass media as well as the stakeholders and,
equally important, the importance of working to accommodate the legitimate needs and
interests of fishermen and their families.
Blue whale conservation, gaps, and challenges of MPA policies in Chile
Else Cabrera
Waters off northwestern Isla de Chiloé, southern Chile, host a major feeding aggregation
of blue whales during the austral summer. Human activities in the area include intensive
salmon farming, industrial fishing, and maritime ship traffic. An initial effort by Chilean
authorities to establish an MPA for the conservation of blue whales in the region was
unsuccessful due to the lack of an appropriate national legal framework and, perhaps
more importantly, because of a flawed process of public participation. <strong>The</strong> proposal
failed to consider blue whale distribution, habitat use, and threats, and it exempted from
future regulations all fishing operations (both artisanal and industrial) and aquaculture
facilities already established in the area. Complaints from stakeholders regarding
technical, environmental, and socio-economic aspects of the proposal led the
government to postpone adoption until “all sectors are adequately involved.” This was
viewed as a positive outcome because adoption under the terms proposed, creating a
paper MPA with no management plan and with regulatory exemptions for potentially
harmful activities, would have set an unfortunate precedent.
ICMMPA <strong>Conference</strong> Proceedings
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