Hi fina54-ga,
The short answer to your question is that both the Blue Whale and the
Dolphin (and anything else that lives in the sea) require protection
of its habitat. In this regard, any measures that protect our seas
will have a positive effect in saving these marine mammals
Specifically, the Blue Whale is an endangered species and is being
protected by the Endangered Species Act and a worldwide moratorium on
hunting that has been in effect since 1966. It is not known if
populations are declining or growing. More research needs to be done,
but the goal at this time is to prevent a renewal of hunting which is
the main threat to this species.
The dolphin (bottlenose dolphin) is not an endangered species.
However, it too is protected from hunting and most populations remain
high. The main threats to bottlenose dolphins are accidental death
due to fishing, and in some cases, too much attention from people.
There are some populations, such as the Black sea bottlenose dolphin,
that are suffering a decline in numbers due to a combination of
habitat loss and animal capture for zoos and aquariums and so action
is being take to protect them.
Below I have outlined the specific threats and work being done to
protect each species.
================================
BLUE WHALE (Balaenoptera musculus)
=================================
The Blue Whale is listed as an Endangered Species. It is unclear how
many blue whales now inhabit the oceans, but estimates range from
3,000-12,000. There are many difficulties in assessing exact numbers
of whales including a general lack of understanding of how and where
these giant creatures migrate throughout the world's oceans.
Historically, the primary threat to blue whales has been the whaling
industry. In the first half of the 20th century, it is estimated that
over 8,000 blue whales were killed for food in the North Sea alone.
This does not include those killed in southern waters and in the North
Pacific. One source estimates that nearly 30,000 animals were taken
worldwide in 1930. The estimated total kill of blue whales in the 20th
century is 350,000 animals. At one time the Blue Whale was considered
to be the most hunted animal on earth.
The first protection for blue whales came in 1939 when they were given
protected status in the southern hemisphere. In 1955 they were given
complete protection in the North Atlantic under the International
Convention for the Regulation of Whaling; this protection was extended
to the Antarctic in 1965 and the North Pacific in 1966. The protected
status of North Atlantic blue whales was not recognized by Iceland
until 1960.
On June 2, 1970, the blue whale was designated as Endangered to
protect it from the threat of renewed commercial whaling.
Today, scientists are not sure whether blue whale numbers are
increasing or decreasing, but, with the outlawing of hunting, they do
not suspect that there are any other major factors effecting
populations. Some conservationists are concerned however that a few
whalers may still take blue whales for "scientific research" and that
blue whale meat can still apparently be found under other labels.
In 1998 The National Marine Fisheries Service and National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration put forth a recovery plan for the blue
whale. The long-term goal of the plan is to ---
"….promote the recovery of blue whale populations so that it becomes
appropriate to remove them from the list of Endangered and Threatened
Wildlife under the Endangered Species Act. The Plan identifies
measures that must be taken to protect and monitor the recovery of
blue whale populations in the North Atlantic and North Pacific
oceans."
In short the plan makes the following recommended actions –
(1) determine population structure of blue whales
(2) estimate population size and monitor trends in abundance
(3) identify and protect essential habitats
(4) minimize or eliminate human-caused injury and mortality
(5) coordinate state, federal, and international actions to
implement recovery efforts
(6) determine and minimize any detrimental effects of directed
vessel1 and aircraft interactions
(7) maximize efforts to acquire scientific information from dead,
stranded, and entangled animals.
The plan is very comprehensive including a step-down outline [pp 29 –
33] of specific steps to be taken to achieve the above goals.
You can read the complete plan here:
National Marine Fisheries Service. 1998. Recovery plan for the blue
whale (Balaenoptera
musculus). Prepared by Reeves R.R., P.J. Clapham, R.L. Brownell, Jr.,
and G.K. Silber for the National Marine Fisheries Service, Silver
Spring, MD. 42 pp.
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/prot_res/readingrm/Recoverplans/blue_whale_RP.pdf
====================================
MORE INFORMATION ON BLUE WHALES
====================================
ALASKA – BLUE WHALES
http://www.state.ak.us/local/akpages/FISH.GAME/wildlife/geninfo/game/blue.htm
US FISH AND WILDLIFE SPECIES PROFILE
http://ecos.fws.gov/servlet/SpeciesProfile?spcode=A02M#status
CETACEA – BLUE WHALE
http://www.cetacea.org/blue.htm
=========================================
BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN (Tursiops truncatus)
==========================================
There is no animal that goes by the name of "blue dolphin" and the
word "dolphin" is a term that applies to a whole group of sea mammals.
Thus, I assume that you are referring to the creature that is
commonly recognized by the public as a "dolphin" and that is the
BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN.
This guy, right?
Dolphin
http://www.discoverycove.com/images/pics/dolphin_dead_on.jpg
Bottlenose dolphins are distributed worldwide in tropical and
warm-temperate waters. Although they have their share of troubles with
humans, fishnet entanglement, and habitat degradation, bottlenose
dolphins are not considered to be Endangered or Threatened as defined
by the Endangered species act, nor are they considered to be a
depleted species under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
The conservation efforts to protect bottlenose dolphins lie in making
accurate counts of numbers of dolphins, tracking population growth or
declines, and recording known deaths as accurately as possible in
order to identify potential threats.
Like all other marine mammals (including the blue whale), bottlenose
dolphins are protected in the US by the Marine Mammal Protection Act
(MMPA) and by similar acts in other countries. The MMPA declares a
moratorium on the hunting or "taking" of any marine mammal in US
waters, but does allow some exceptions for scientific research or
other specific purposes.
The 1994 Amendments to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), made a
number of changes in the regulations governing the incidental taking
of marine mammals in the course of commercial fishing operations. This
amendment requires the reporting of all marine mammals that are
accidentally taken, killed or injured during fishing operations. It is
through this act that we have a better understanding of the numbers of
dolphins that are affected by the fishing industry.
For example, one stock census of bottlenose dolphins in the Gulf of
Mexico shows a total population of around 50,000 animals and estimated
level of incidental mortality and serious injury of about 5 -6
bottlenose dolphins in 1993.
Also critical to our protecting this species is an understanding of
how disease and environmental contaminants affect large populations.
During 1987-88 there was a massive die off of bottlenose dolphins in
the western North Atlantic. Over half of that population died during
the 11-month epidemic. Possible causes include brevetoxin produced by
red tide organisms, environmental contaminants, or natural diseases.
Finally, the bottlenose dolphin may be "over loved" by people. The
black sea population (which is possibly a subspecies) is in decline
due to habitat destruction, but also because it is the primary source
of dolphins for aquariums and zoos. The number caught for export to
aquaria almost doubled between 1995 and 1998. Mortality of Black Sea
bottlenose dolphins during capture, transport and captivity is high.
Georgia has proposed a change to the Convention on the International
Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) [ http://www.cites.org/ ]
that would protect the black sea dolphin from the captive animal
trade.
Black Sea Bottlenose Dolphin -
http://www.speciessurvivalnetwork.org/factsheets/SSN%20Dolphin%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf
Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society - Black Sea Bottlenose Dolphin
Briefing
http://www.wdcs.org/dan/publishing.nsf/c525f7df6cbf01ef802569d600573108/3b1295d3cfd4e90a80256c5600598401/$FILE/Tursiops%20Briefing%20-%20Oct%2002.pdf
===============================
MORE INFORMATION ON DOLPHINS
===============================
Western North Atlantic Coastal Bottlenose Dolphin
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/prot_res/species/Cetaceans/coastalbottlenose.html
MARINE MAMMAL PROTECTION ACT
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/prot_res/laws/MMPA/MMPA.html
MMPA 1994 AMENDMENT – FISHERIES INTERACTIONS
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/prot_res/PR2/Fisheries_Interactions/fisheriesinteractions.html
National Marine Fisheries Service – bottlenose dolphins
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/prot_res/species/Cetaceans/coastalbottlenose.html
HUMANE SOCIETY PROPOSALS – BLACK SEA BOTTLE NOSE DOLPHINS
http://www.hsus.org/ace/15008
Marine mammal Links
http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Andes/2577/whale.html
This is an excellent site that will give you an overview of the status
of whale and dolphin species on a year-by-year basis. -------
NMFS STOCK ASSESSMENT - WHALE AND DOLPHIN POPULATIONS
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/prot_res/PR2/Stock_Assessment_Program/individual_sars.html
What I've given you should answer your question fully. If there is
anything that I've said that you don't understand, or if any of the
links don't work for you, please feel free to ask for a clarification
and I'll be happy to explain further.
Thanks for your great question .. it was fun to research!
--K~
search terms –
"blue whale" conservation
"bottlenose dolphin" conservation
"bottlenose dolphin" hunting
Marine Mammal Protection Act |
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