A new study published in the most recent edition of Biological Conservation reported that many of the smaller marine mammals such as dolphins, porpoises and manatees are ending up on the menu in many parts of the world.
Photo courtesy of dolphinart.com
ScienceDaily, Jan. 24th, 2012.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120124151945.htm
The fate of the world’s great whale species commands global attention as a result of heated debate between pro and anti-whaling advocates, but the fate of smaller marine mammals is less understood, specifically because the deliberate and accidental harvesting of dolphins, porpoises, manatees and other warm-blooded aquatic denizens is rarely studied or monitored. To shed more light on the issue, researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Society and Okapi Wildlife Associates have conducted an exhaustive global study of human consumption of marine mammals using approximately 900 sources of information.
The main finding: since 1990, people in at least 114 countries have consumed one or more of at least 87 marine mammal species. In addition to this global review, Wildlife Conservation Society scientists work in remote countries around the world to assess and actively address the threat to dolphin populations with localized, applied conservation efforts.
