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Resource ID
10866
Access
Open
Full Title
Coastal dolphin hunting in the southwest of Madagascar: status of populations, human impacts and conservation actions (SC/61/SM15)
Author
Salvatore Cerchio, Norbert Andrianarivelo, Yvette Razafindrakoto, Martin Mendez And Howard C. Rosenbaum
Abstract
In the southwest of Madagascar, traditional Vezo fishermen opportunistically hunt coastal
dolphins for local consumption and sale of meat. Interviews of fishermen from the village of
Anakao suggest that over 6000 individuals were slaughtered between 1985 and 2000, with 57%
of takes occurring after 1995. Species most impacted were spinner, Indo-Pacific bottlenose and
Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins, all having a strong coastal distribution and thus vulnerable to
traditional hunting. In 2005, a drive hunt of 100-200 spinner dolphins was reported, supporting
the figures reported in the interviews. Between 2004 and 2007, boat-based surveys were
conducted in this region to establish status of cetacean populations. Eight species of dolphins and
two species of baleen whales were observed. At least five deep-water dolphin species were
documented highlighting the diversity and ecological importance of the region. Distributions of
the three targeted species were primarily coastal and encounter rates very low. In 2008, similar
surveys were conducted around Nosy Be in the northwest, where Sakalava fishermen are thought
to not hunt dolphins. Group size of humpback dolphins was three-fold larger and individual
encounter rate six-fold greater in Nosy Be as compared to Anakao. This dramatic difference
suggests that the Nosy Be population is relatively healthy and provides further evidence for the
depletion of southwest populations. In response to the apparent impact on dolphins, we have
initiated a program of education and awareness-raising, and implemented a series of stakeholder
workshops to promote economic alternatives to dolphin hunting in the southwest. This has
resulted in the creation of a local Association formed of community stakeholders, with the
explicit goals of cetacean conservation, economic advancement and development of community based ecotourism in a region with a rapidly developing tourism industry. In addition, we are
currently exploring the design of MPAs aimed to serve as resilient areas of marine life.