Taiwanese White
Dolphins and fisheries can benefit from dolphin-friendly fishing
International
expert group proposes target of 100 dolphins by 2030
2 May 2014
2 May
2014, Taipei:
Taiwan’s critically endangered and biologically distinct White Dolphins
(Sousa chinensis) and its fishers
could both benefit from a switch to dolphin-friendly fishing gear, concluded
scientists at an international workshop today in Taipei.
Workshop participants from Brazil, Canada, Hong
Kong, Mexico, New Zealand, the Philippines, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and the
United States met under the auspices of the Eastern Taiwan Strait Sousa
Technical Advisory Working Group, an international group of scientists
established in 2007 to provide conservation-based scientific advice to recover
the Taiwanese white dolphins.
The Taiwanese white dolphins, which inhabit the
nearshore waters of Taiwan’s west coast, number approximately 74 individuals.
They face numerous threats, including entanglement in fishing nets,
particularly gillnets. Dolphins can drown if they are unable to break free from
a net, and such an impact may jeopardize the survival or recovery of the
population.
More than 30%
of the dolphins bear the scars of previous entanglements, and some dolphins
still have nets wrapped around their bodies. This causes terrible suffering and
impairs their ability to feed and reproduce.
Workshop participants suggested that Taiwan could
set a target to increase the number of dolphins to 100 individuals by
2030. This would improve the population
from the IUCN ‘Critically Endangered’ listing to the ‘Endangered’ listing.
Dr. Peter Ross, Chair of the Eastern Taiwan Strait
Sousa Technical Advisory Working Group and Program Director at the Vancouver
Aquarium in Canada, said: “The Taiwanese white dolphins are suffering from
terrible injuries associated with fishing nets. The best hope to reduce this
threat, and recover this critically endangered population, would come from
banning gill nets in their habitat, and encouraging fishers to switch to more
selective fishing gear.”
Switching to alternative, more selective fishing
methods can also bring significant benefits to fishers, with recovering fish
stocks leading to increased income for fishers.
The international expert group welcomed the recent
announcement by the Forestry Bureau that it will soon designate Major Wildlife
Habitat for the dolphins.
The expert group encouraged the Forestry Bureau to
consider increasing the Major Wildlife Habitat area from Longfeng Harbour
(Miaoli County) in the north to Jiangiyun Harbour (Tainan City) in the south,
and increasing the offshore boundary to 3 nautical miles from the shore.
The designation of Major Wildlife Habitat
represents a management tool, but it will only be meaningful if accompanied by
actions to reduce the threat from pollution, freshwater diversions, noise,
habitat destruction and fisheries impacts.
ENDS
For further information or to arrange an interview,
please contact:
English: Dr. Peter Ross, Program Director,
Vancouver Aquarium, tel ++1.604.659.3563, email peter.ross@vanaqua.org
