Problems of marine mammal conservation in Southeast Asia

Abstract

The marine mammal fauna of Southeast Asia consists of approximately 30 species, about ¼ of the world's species, and includes several endemic species or subspecies. Examples of problems of conservation include bycatch in a tuna driftnet fishery, inshore habitat degradation, and depletion of humpback whales in the Philippines; possible disappearance of dolphins and porpoises from the Mekong Delta in Vietnam; and depletion of riverine dolphins and large bycatch in a shark fishery in Indonesia. Major causative factors include over-fishing, human overpopulation, development, vulnerability of marine mammals, and evolution of bycatch into directed dolphin fisheries. Needs are for inventory (stock identification and abundance estimation), bycatch monitoring, reduction of takes to sustainable levels, and regional international cooperation. © 2002, The Japanese Society of Fisheries Science. All rights reserved.