Survey on the number of cetaceans caught in the inshore/offshore fisheries

Themes

Abundance trends of selected taxa

PSBR model type

State (S)

Corresponding targets

Aichi Biodiversity Targets

Target 12 By 2020 the extinction of known threatened species has been prevented and their conservation status, particularly of those most in decline, has been improved and sustained.

Background

The bycatch of small species of toothed whales (Odontoceti) has long been one of the issues of concern for the International Whaling Commission (IWC) annual meetings. Asian countries and regions, including Taiwan and South Korea, have been named in the IWC committee report for severe bycatch of small dolphins. It is recommended to use finless porpoises and Risso's Dolphin (Grampus griseus) in the new index as the target species for assessment in the Taiwan Strait and the east coast of Taiwan, respectively. The main reason for this recommendation is that previous research data show that the aforementioned two small toothed whales are the main bycatch species in the western and eastern inshore/offshore of Taiwan. This new indicator can reflect the trend of local biodiversity changes and the health of the ecosystem. From the past experience of communication, it is difficult for the Fisheries Agency, Council of Agriculture to promote the issue of cetacean bycatch, perhaps because the bycatch issue may conflict with many other projects promoted by the agency.

Definition and Calculation

Establish a basic value for the number of common cetacean species in the sea areas around Taiwan, and use the life history parameters of the population to estimate data like its mortality and age composition, etc.. Obtain fishery data such as fishing boat effort, operating range, and type of operations at major fishing ports, establish a marine bycatch data feedback system (APP or security check station for report), estimate the bycatch rate of various species and the temporal and spatial distribution of main fishing method that causes bycatch. Estimate the impact of bycatch on the cetacean population and use PBR and bycatch rate in the population survival model to calculate the impact of different bycatch mortality on different species so that mitigation measures and conservation strategies can be developed.

Updates

No data currently available

Trends

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Data Management Authorities

Fisheries Agency, Ocean Conservation Administration

Data Source / URL

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