SC/69B/CMP/17Rev1  

Document Number

SC/69B/CMP/17Rev1

Full Title

Annex 3 CMP Template A Conservation Management Plan for Central America Humpback Whale Population

Author

This Conservation Management Plan Was Prepared By The Governments Of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Mexico, Panama, And The United States Of America.

Authors Summary

The Central American population of humpback whales is considered endangered due to the small population size and potentially harmful interactions with human activities like fishing, ship traffic, and whale-watching. The governments of Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, and the United States of America agreed to develop a Conservation Management Plan (CMP) for the Central American humpback whales. The main objective is to conserve the humpback whale and its habitat through collaborative regional actions to reduce anthropogenic threats across this population?s range. The CMP will define the main actions to evaluate the humpback whale population in their range from Panama to the USA, identify the threats quantitatively and guarantee its conservation in the short, medium, and long term. The Central American humpback whale's CMP will allow for articulating research and conservation actions among the countries where this population lives, defining national and other regional actions. Likewise, it will focus on generating mechanisms for joint work among researchers, organizations, and governments that will provide a foundation for influencing and informing management policies across the range of this population. Public awareness of governance and environmental agencies depends directly on how effectively and efficiently scientific information is shared and on the quality of the shared data. Much technical expertise is needed for designing, planning, fieldwork, analysis, and obtaining data on biological and ecological aspects of the species. Capacity building is crucial to ensure the quality and reliability of the information produced and to standardize methods that allow robust comparison among areas and studies.

Publisher

IWC

Keywords

Publication Year

2024

Abstract

The humpback whale population in Central America has been little studied. Population estimates indicate a small size and vulnerability to anthropogenic threats. Monitoring this population should be designed to better understand the population structure and the intensity of potential threats. The development and implementation of the CMP for CAHWP will allow the coordination of research and conservation between the countries where the specie, defining national and other regional actions. Likewise, it will focus on generating joint work mechanisms between researchers, organizations and governments that allow influencing to building technician capacity, management policies in science-based governance throughout the distribution region, in follow-up to the Scientific Committee's recognition of this population as a priority species.