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CMS Technical Series No. 26 Conserving cetaceans and manatees in the western African region Bonn, 2012 Compilation of articles based on the Scientific Symposium “ of the Western African Talks on Cetaceans and their Habitats (WATCH) in Adeje, Tenerife, 2007 Published by the Secretariat of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) provided by the United Nations Environment Programme. Conserving cetaceans and manatees in the western African region 2012. CMS Secretariat, Bonn, Germany. CMS Technical Series No. 26 Produced by: UNEP/CMS Secretariat, Bonn, Germany Coordination team: Ana Berta García, Heidrun Frisch Editing: Koen Van Waerebeek Design: Ana Berta García, Sara García Antolín (cover) Translation into English: Koen Van Waerebeek © United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) / Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS). Cover photographs: Sowerby’s beaked whale: © Justin Hart, CetaceanWatching Lda. Contact: CetaceanWatching Lda, 9950-305 Cais da Madalena, Madalena do Pico - Azores, Portugal. E-mail: [email protected]; web: www.cwazores.com West African manatee: © Lucy Keith and Tomas Diagne. Contact: Lucy Keith, Research Scientist, Sea to Shore Alliance, 200 Second Avenue South, #315, St. Petersburg, FL 33701 USA. E-mail: [email protected]; sea2shore.org Atlantic humpback dolphin: © Caroline R. Weir. Contact: Ketos Ecology, 44 Lord Hay's Grove, Aberdeen, AB24 1WS, United Kingdom. E-mail: [email protected]; web: www.ketosecology.co.uk Heaviside's dolphin: © Namibian Dolphin Project. Contact: Dr. Simon Elwen, Mammal Research Institute, University of Pretoria, Iziko Museums of Cape Town, PO Box 61 Cape Town 8000 South Africa. E-mail: [email protected] This publication may be reproduced in whole or in part and in any form for education or non-profit purposes without special permission from the copyright holder, provided acknowledgement of the source is made. UNEP/CMS would appreciate receiving a copy of any publication that uses this publication as a source. No use of this publication may be made for resale or for any other commercial purpose whatsoever without prior permission in writing from the United Nations Environment Programme as well as from the copyright holders detailed above. DISCLAIMER The contents of this volume do not necessarily reflect the views of UNEP or contributory organizations. The designations employed and the presentations do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNEP or contributory organizations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area in its authority, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Copies of this publication are available from the UNEP/CMS Secretariat, United Nations Premises. UNEP/CMS Secretariat, Hermann-Ehlers-Str. 10, 53113 Bonn, Germany Tel: (+49 228) 815 2401/ 02; Fax: (+49 228) 815 2449 Email: [email protected] Web: www.cms.int French and Spanish versions are available. Acknowledgements: Robert Vagg, Neisha Burton, Matthias Makowski. CMS Technical Series No. 26 Conserving cetaceans and manatees in the western African region Compilation of articles based on the Scientific Symposium of the Western African Talks on Cetaceans and their Habitats (WATCH) in Adeje, Tenerife, 2007 UNEP/CMS Bonn, 2012 Foreword by Elizabeth Maruma Mrema Foreword by William B. Perrin UNEP/CMS Executive Secretary National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA Marine mammal conservation is a crucial component of The Memorandum of Understanding on Small Cetaceans the work of the Convention on the Conservation of Mi- and Manatees of West Africa has brought long needed gratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), which aims to attention to the assessment and conservation of the conserve and manage avian, aquatic and terrestrial mi- small-cetacean fauna of the eastern tropical Atlantic and gratory species and their habitats throughout their the threatened West African manatee. range. The papers in this volume reflect a sample of the recent Effective conservation can only be achieved based on and developing programmes of research that hopefully sound science. However, the biology, distribution and will lead to increased awareness and concern about the threats to marine species are especially hard to study. It fate of these animals into the future. is therefore all the more crucial to make the existing The needs for expertise, infrastructure and financial information readily available. This publication is based resources to tackle the many emerging problems of on the programme of a scientific symposium convened by UNEP/CMS in 2007, which dealt specifically with ma- conservation are great across the region. If significant rine mammals of the African eastern Atlantic basin. progress is to be made, international cooperation, capac- ity building, funding and other assistance must be Speakers and authors of posters have provided updated forthcoming. We now know that the needs are there, accounts on research, threats and action taken to miti- gate them. Following the scientific symposium, an and now is the time to build momentum to bring about change. Without action on the ground, the MoU will be intergovernmental agreement covering small cetaceans only an empty gesture. and the West African manatee was negotiated for the region. This instrument is designed to streamline and coordinate conservation efforts and to support countries with the implementation at national and local level. Besides government institutions, non-governmental organizations often play an important role on the ground. Only if all stakeholders work hand in hand can we hope to preserve these fascinating creatures of the oceans and rivers for future generations. We hope that this publica- tion will be a valuable resource for scientists and conservation managers alike! Foreword by Patrick K. Ofori-Danson Foreword by Koen Van Waerebeek University of Ghana Editor of this publication Small cetaceans and manatees form an important com- As African coastlines are developed at breakneck speed, ponent of marine biological diversity in the western formidable conservation challenges emerge. If a number Africa and Macaronesian region. Although legal protec- of current unsustainable practices in fisheries and tion has been established for these mammals in these coastal development are not adapted decisively, some areas, enforcement is frustrated by a lack of resources, of Africa's marine habitats risk severe, possibly irreversi- manpower, limited awareness of existing regulations and ble, degradation. expanding human populations. Hunting and conflict with One example, the endemic Atlantic humpback dolphin, fishermen have left these mammals severely threatened. long assumed to be widely distributed along all west In particular the West African manatee, Trichechus sene- African shores, is actually confirmed in only a fraction of galensis, is the least studied sirenian species and is Red its potential range. Significant coastal sections in the Listed as ‘vulnerable’ by the IUCN Species Survival Com- northern Gulf of Guinea appear devoid of the species, mission Sirenia Species Group. The species’ cultural and the threat of local extinction can no longer be ig- significance is evidenced by a widespread association nored. High fisheries pressure and disturbance from all between manatees and the Mami Water spirit, stories, types of coastal development are the main suspects. songs and some indigenous practices. Thus any infor- mation that may be obtained on these mammals will be Surely not all is gloom. As occurred in South America in important for conservation initiatives both locally and the 1980s, a new generation of dynamic, well-trained regionally. researchers and managers with a regional vision are taking charge, aptly illustrated by the many African au- The first WATCH negotiation meeting (16-20 October thorships herein. Inevitably this novel trend will not 2007) held in Tenerife, Spain, marked an emergent syn- evolve without obstacles, but it is quite irreversible. ergy which has catalyzed efforts to develop a West Count on home-grown activities like long-term aquatic African and Macaronesian Conservation Strategy for mammal field programmes involving increasing numbers these animals at the international level. This document, of students at African universities, border-transcending which draws from papers presented at this meeting, will collaborations, consultations on management policies help to fill in information needs required to reach appro- between governmental institutions, academia and na- priate organizations in order to foster conservation tive NGOs. actions aimed at protecting these animals. Ultimately, enhanced awareness at all levels of society should grant the political powers the popular mandate to install innovative conservation strategies that would have a chance of bearing results. Institutions like CMS and individual experts will surely continue to assist where requested. The WATCH talks greatly contributed to this emerging dynamic and the present proceedings stand witness to that. Table of contents Introduction ......................................................................................................................................................... 1 Reinventing the whale .......................................................................................................................................... 2 Status and distribution of small cetaceans and manatees in western Africa and Macaronesia
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