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SC/69A/SM/08
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Resource ID
20061
Access
Open
Document Number
SC/69A/SM/08
Full Title
A review of small cetacean hunts in Greenland
Author
Dolman, S.J. And Hodgins, N.K.
Authors Summary
Seven odontocete species are targeted by hunters in Greenlandic waters. Beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) and narwhal (Monodon monoceros) are hunted under annual quotas. Atlantic white-sided (Lagenorhynchus acutus), white beaked dolphin (Lagenorhynchus albirostris), harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena), killer whale (Orcinus orca) and long-finned pilot whale (Globicephala melas) are hunted without quotas. Between 2003-2022, 72,970 small cetaceans were reported killed in Greenland and 4,206 individuals in 2022.
Knowledge of population status and trends is generally poor for most small cetaceans, as is the understanding of the impact of hunting and other anthropogenic impacts. A significant number of hunted individuals are unreported and there is incomplete accounting for struck and lost individuals. The failure to recover struck odontocetes has welfare as well as conservation implications that are seldom considered, although the IWC Working Group on Whale Killing Methods and Welfare Issues has encouraged incorporation of data collection and reduction of struck and lost rates in initiatives relating to the beluga and narwhal hunts. The time to death of successfully hunted and recovered small cetaceans is rarely considered by the IWC.
Some of the targeted populations are experiencing significant declines in abundance. Scientific concerns have been raised about the unsustainability of some of these hunts, by the Scientific Committees of NAMMCO and IWC. Naalakkersuisut has been slow to heed or disregards scientific advice, including from its national Scientific Authority.
To ensure the protection of small cetaceans in Greenland, the government should urgently implement measures for all small cetacean hunts consistent with international conservation management recommendations, ensuring sustainability and taking into account other causes of mortal
Publisher
IWC
Publication Year
2023
Abstract
Seven odontocete species are regularly targeted by hunters in Greenlandic waters. Beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) and narwhal (Monodon monoceros) are hunted under annual quotas, while Atlantic white-sided (Lagenorhynchus acutus), white beaked dolphin (Lagenorhynchus albirostris), harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena), killer whale (Orcinus orca) and long-finned pilot whale (Globicephala melas) are hunted without quotas. Since 1993, a total of 103,899 small cetaceans are recorded in the North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission (NAMMCO) catch database[1] as hunted in Greenland. Catch records began in 1993 for beluga, harbour porpoise and narwhal, 1995 for pilot whale, 1996 for killer whale and 2003 for Atlantic white-sided/white beaked dolphin (and 2006 for northern bottlenose whales). There are additionally northern bottlenose whale data in the catch database, which are thought to be incorrect entries.[2] Between 2003-2022, 72,970 small cetaceans were reported killed in Greenland. In 2022, the NAMMCO database reports 4,206 small cetaceans as hunted in Greenland.
Knowledge of population status and trends is generally poor for most small cetacean species in Greenland, as is the understanding of the impact of hunting and other anthropogenic impacts. Inadequate monitoring and reporting of takes means that a significant number of hunted individuals are unreported and there is incomplete accounting for struck and lost cetaceans, although the number of which is expected to be high. Whilst struck and lost rates are highly variable, it has been indicated that when narwhal hunts occur near the ice-edge, more than half of the animals killed may be lost (Reeves et al., 2014). The failure to recover struck small cetaceans has welfare as well as conservation implications that are seldom considered by the International Whaling Commission (IWC), although the Working Group on Whale Killing Methods and Welfare Issues has encouraged incorporation of data collection and reduction of struck and lost rates in initiatives in Greenland relating to the beluga and narwhal hunts. Similarly, the time to death of successfully hunted and recovered small cetaceans is rarely considered by the IWC.[3]
Some of the targeted populations are experiencing significant declines in abundance, to the point where recovery may be compromised. Scientific concerns have been raised about the unsustainability of a number of these hunts, by the Scientific Committee’s of NAMMCO and the IWC (IWC, 2022). Naalakkersuisut has been slow to heed scientific advice, including from its own Scientific Authority, and in some cases, disregards it. The IWC Scientific Committee has recommended that no small cetacean removals (live capture or directed harvest) should be authorised for any population until a complete and up-to-date assessment of sustainability has been completed (IWC, 2016; 2017; 2018; 2019; 2021; 2022).
To ensure the protection of small cetaceans in Greenland, the government should urgently implement measures for all small cetacean hunts consistent with international conservation management recommendations, ensuring sustainability and taking into account other causes of mortality including stuck and lost, bycatch and other anthropogenic threats. Such measures must be precautionary, based upon up-to-date knowledge of population status and trends, and account for recovery rates.
[1] Catch database - NAMMCO
[2] Northern Bottlenose Whale - NAMMCO
[3] The Working Group on Whale Killing Methods and Welfare Issues (iwc.int)