5.5
Small Cetaceans
Small Cetacean Conservation
• No global conservation regime
• Regional multilateral conservation efforts, particularly under the Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals
• National initiatives, such EEZ-based marine protected areas
Contrary to the ‘great whales’ that are protected and the hunt of which is regulated by
the International Whaling Commission, this does not account for small cetaceans—
dolphins and porpoises (toothed whales). For decades, attempts to place small
cetaceans under the wings of the IWC have failed. Instead, the international legal
regime for their protection does not rest primarily on one organisation, but is a
patchwork of national and international protective measures, some of which are also
of relevance for the protection of large whales.
Broadly speaking, the protection of small cetaceans is primarily based on the
initiatives of nation states themselves as the IWC does not provide for the management of small cetaceans. Over the years, the issue of small cetaceans has arisen
frequently on the IWC’s agenda, but many countries, especially those favouring the
sustainable utilisation of whales, have opposed a broadening of the IWC’s mandate.
Still, the IWC’s Scientific Committee has established a Small Cetaceans
Sub-Committee in 1979, providing scientific advice for countries with threatened
small cetacean species. In fact, a large number of resolutions has been passed that
address the IWC’s role in the conservation of small cetaceans, all of which have been
consolidated into specific terms of reference for the Small Cetaceans Sub-Committee
in 2014. Without directly expanding its mandate of the IWC towards small
cetaceans, the IWC encourages its member states to conduct scientific work on
small cetaceans and to contribute technically and financially to small cetacean
conservation efforts.
The history of the interaction between small cetaceans and humans has not been
marked by such a long-standing controversy as that of larger whales and humans.
When the anti-whaling movement kicked off in the 1960s/70s, focus rested primarily
on large (baleen) whales while small cetaceans were considered primarily as part of
the greater ‘Save the Whales’ narrative. Denotations as ‘the dolphin’ or ‘the whale’
neglected the inherent differences in species composition and stock statuses that
characterise all cetacean species. In the past, primary threats to small cetaceans did
not stem from overhunting, given their relatively small size. Instead, other anthropogenic threats, which are equally affecting large whales, severely impact small
cetaceans: habitat degradation or loss, noise and other pollution, ship strikes, climate
change or by-catch. Several small cetacean species are severely threatened. For
instance, the vaquita (Phocoena sinus) has been dangerously depleted as result of
being by-catch in the extensive totoaba (Totoaba macdonaldi) fisheries in the Baja
California. At the point of writing, less than 30 animals are expected to exist. Also
5.5 Small Cetaceans
113
Small Cetaceans
Small Cetacean Conservation
• No global conservation regime
• Regional multilateral conservation efforts, particularly under the Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals
• National initiatives, such EEZ-based marine protected areas
Contrary to the ‘great whales’ that are protected and the hunt of which is regulated by
the International Whaling Commission, this does not account for small cetaceans—
dolphins and porpoises (toothed whales). For decades, attempts to place small
cetaceans under the wings of the IWC have failed. Instead, the international legal
regime for their protection does not rest primarily on one organisation, but is a
patchwork of national and international protective measures, some of which are also
of relevance for the protection of large whales.
Broadly speaking, the protection of small cetaceans is primarily based on the
initiatives of nation states themselves as the IWC does not provide for the management of small cetaceans. Over the years, the issue of small cetaceans has arisen
frequently on the IWC’s agenda, but many countries, especially those favouring the
sustainable utilisation of whales, have opposed a broadening of the IWC’s mandate.
Still, the IWC’s Scientific Committee has established a Small Cetaceans
Sub-Committee in 1979, providing scientific advice for countries with threatened
small cetacean species. In fact, a large number of resolutions has been passed that
address the IWC’s role in the conservation of small cetaceans, all of which have been
consolidated into specific terms of reference for the Small Cetaceans Sub-Committee
in 2014. Without directly expanding its mandate of the IWC towards small
cetaceans, the IWC encourages its member states to conduct scientific work on
small cetaceans and to contribute technically and financially to small cetacean
conservation efforts.
The history of the interaction between small cetaceans and humans has not been
marked by such a long-standing controversy as that of larger whales and humans.
When the anti-whaling movement kicked off in the 1960s/70s, focus rested primarily
on large (baleen) whales while small cetaceans were considered primarily as part of
the greater ‘Save the Whales’ narrative. Denotations as ‘the dolphin’ or ‘the whale’
neglected the inherent differences in species composition and stock statuses that
characterise all cetacean species. In the past, primary threats to small cetaceans did
not stem from overhunting, given their relatively small size. Instead, other anthropogenic threats, which are equally affecting large whales, severely impact small
cetaceans: habitat degradation or loss, noise and other pollution, ship strikes, climate
change or by-catch. Several small cetacean species are severely threatened. For
instance, the vaquita (Phocoena sinus) has been dangerously depleted as result of
being by-catch in the extensive totoaba (Totoaba macdonaldi) fisheries in the Baja
California. At the point of writing, less than 30 animals are expected to exist. Also
5.5 Small Cetaceans
113