N° 5, April 2012 N.B.: The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author(s) and don’t necessarily represent those of the Secretariat of ACCOBAMS.

 

Italy declares an Ecological Protection Zone in its Ligurian, Tyrrhenian and Sardinian waters

With Presidential Decree 27 Oct. 2011, n. 209, Italy has now formally declared its Ecological Protection Zone (EPZ) in the Ligurian and Tyrrhenian Seas (area within the white line in the map below), to extend to the High Seas marine conservation regulations and measures currently in force on the basis of Italian and Community legislation, and of all the relevant International Conventions which Italy is party to.  These concern, specifically, regulations targeting pollution from ships, offshore rigs, ballast waters, garbage disposal, and exploration and exploitation of the sea bottom, as well as the protection of marine biodiversity and ecosystems with a specific reference to marine mammals. These regulations now apply to all vessels, including those flying a non-Italian flag.

This new development bears significant consequences for the region’s marine conservation. For example, together with the adjacent French EPZ (which was declared in 2004 and is soon to be formally converted into a full-fledged Economic Exclusive Zone), now most of the marine surface of the Pelagos Sanctuary lies within the jurisdiction of either France or Italy, thereby facilitating the implementation of management measures in the Sanctuary, as well as removing a psychological barrier that until now has prevented many officials from the concerned states from considering Pelagos a “real” MPA. Italy’s declaration of an EPZ is the latest in the process whereby the Mediterranean coastal states are progressively extending their jurisdiction into the High Seas, as provided for by the U.N. Convention of the Law of the Sea.  This is likely to facilitate the implementation of conservation measures in Mediterranean open sea habitats, which are so important for many of the region’s cetacean populations.

 

 

Update on the Lošinj Special Marine Reserve for bottlenose dolphins

Created in 2006 specifically to protect bottlenose dolphins living in the area, the Cres-Lošinj Special Marine Reserve is part of the Croatian National Ecological Network, and represents one of the core marine sites of international importance in the Mediterranean Sea. Establishment of this MPA fulfils the Croatian obligations concerning several Multilateral Environmental Agreements, and ACCOBAMS in particular. Unfortunately, the preventative protection granted by the Croatian law in 2006 expired three years later, in July 2009, and was not renewed. This debacle had created considerable concern and disappointment within Mediterranean conservation circles, and in particular among ACCOBAMS Partners, because the Lošinj Reserve was the first and only Mediterranean MPA specifically created to protect bottlenose dolphins, and had become an iconic component of cetacean conservation in the region.

More recently, the wider area around the reserve was designated as National Ecological Network Site, with bottlenose dolphins as target species. This network is the Croatian counterpart of the EU Natura 2000 network, and protects nationally important species and habitat types. The Reserve is also recognised as a potential future Natura 2000 site: Croatia is preparing its Natura 2000 proposal, which will be submitted to the EU once Croatia will formally accede to the Union in July 2013.

Unfortunately the Lošinj Reserve still lacks management, given that the responsible institution lacks the capacity of managing the large marine area concerned. Appropriate assessment mechanisms – corresponding to Articles 6.3 and 6.4 of the Habitats Directive - for projects and plans that may have an impact on status of bottlenose dolphins apply to this area, however clear and targeted management and conservation measures are needed to secure a future for this important bottlenose dolphin habitat in the Northern Adriatic Sea.

For more information:

• http://www.blue-world.org/en/conservation/projects/LDR/
• Dr. Ana Štrbenac: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

 

Statement of concern by the Scientific Committee of ACCOBAMS about atypical mass strandings of beaked whales in the Ionian Sea

On 13 February the Scientific Committee of ACCOBAMS expressed its highest concern for a chain of stranding events occurred in the Ionian Sea, by sending the following statement to the ACCOBAMS Secretariat:

“The Scientific Committee of ACCOBAMS is greatly concerned about two atypical mass stranding events that have occurred in the Ionian Sea (in Greece and in Italy), involving a minimum of 11 specimens of Cuvier’s beaked whales, Ziphius cavirostris, a species protected under many international agreements (e.g., ACCOBAMS, CMS, Bern Convention, EU Habitats Directive, SPA-BD Protocol to the Barcelona Convention) as well as under national legal instruments.

“At present it is not possible to confirm whether or not all these stranding events were caused by human activities. However, a report from Greek scientist Dr Alexandros Frantzis provides strong evidence that sound from an as yet unknown source, similar to human-generated sounds known to cause atypical beaked whale mass strandings, was generated near the region of one of the strandings off western Corfu.

“Based on recommendations from this Scientific Committee, the above waters have been listed in the ACCOBAMS Meeting of Parties (MOP) Resolution 3.22 as of special importance for the common dolphin and other cetaceans.  Direct observations and an extensive habitat modelling exercise undertaken by Dr Ana Cañadas for ACCOBAMS (SC7_Doc15) show that the deep marine waters off NW Greece and Southern Albania contain important, possibly critical habitat for Cuvier's beaked whales. Beaked whales are particularly sensitive to sound, and in March 2011 the Scientific Committee agreed that beaked whales should not be exposed to a Sound Pressure Level greater than 140 dB re 1 μPa @ 1m in Mediterranean waters deeper than 600 m.

“At the Third and Fourth ACCOBAMS MoPs in 2007 (Resolution 3.10) and 2010 (Resolution 4.17) respectively, Resolutions of direct relevance to preventing human-generated noise from jeopardizing the conservation status of protected cetacean species were adopted by consensus. The most directly relevant elements of these Resolutions (appended in full and summarised below) stress the dangers of underwater noise to cetaceans, especially sensitive species such as beaked whales and urge Parties (and where relevant appropriate IGOs) to:

“In addition, Resolution 4.17 provided guidelines to address the impact of anthropogenic noise on cetaceans in the ACCOBAMS area. These provided explicit indication of measures to be adopted to avoid events such as the recent atypical mass stranding of Cuvier's beaked whales.

“It seems clear from these recent events that the Resolution commitments and guidelines have not been fully complied with by all parties. Indeed, the production of high level noise in the waters off western Corfu could be considered as effectively a deliberate take of Cuvier's beaked whales.

“The Scientific Committee is extremely concerned at this situation, as should be the Parties. We respectfully but strongly request that as a matter of urgency, all Parties ensure that the mechanisms are in place to comply fully with Resolution commitments, recommendations and guidelines. The effectiveness of ACCOBAMS in meeting its conservation objectives is seriously compromised without such mechanisms. This includes the provision of information to the Secretariat (and by extension the scientific and conservation community).  In particular, to assist in the investigation of these events, it is important to know whether the Secretariat and/or the Parties most concerned by the above stranding events can provide information on:

(a) noise-producing human activities in the area; and if yes

(b) whether an EIA for such activity exists, was approved and was reported to the ACCOBAMS Secretariat; and if so

(c) the scientific review process for the EIA and details of any mitigation measures (and how these met the ACCOBAMS guidelines) and compliance mechanisms.

“Given its extreme concern for the effectiveness of the protection status of Cuvier's beaked whales in the Mediterranean Sea, the Scientific Committee of ACCOBAMS reiterates its full commitment and availability to support the Agreement’s conservation efforts, including assisting with the review of cetacean components of EIAs.”

 

Recent unusual strandings of striped dolphins in the Adriatic Sea

During last January 10 strandings events of striped dolphins (see map) occurred in the Adriatic Sea: six on the Croatian side (reported by the University of Zagreb), and four on the Italian side (reported by the University of Padua). This is highly unusual, both in terms of number of events, and in terms of species, because striped dolphins only sporadically occur in the central and northern Adriatic Sea. Necropsies performed at the Cetacean strandings Emergency Response Team (CERT) of the University of Padua did not reveal a certain cause of death of the dolphins stranded in Italy, which were all recovered in a good conservation state, indicating a short interval of time between death and intervention. No evidence of infective causes, nor of algal biotoxin poisoning was found. The most important elements observed, shared by all the dead dolphins, are indicative of starvation and consequent choice of inappropriate food.

An important aspect which could be at the root of the observed problems, and which should be further investigated, concerns a scenario whereby the dolphins have been dislodged from the species’ usual habitat (in this case the Southern Adriatic and Ionian) by loud anthropogenic noise, which based on recent observations is thought to seriously affect the dolphins’ prey, such as cephalopods, in addition to affecting the dolphins themselves. Recent naval exercises have been conducted in the Ionian Sea, whereas the Southern Adriatic has been subject to intense seismic surveys for oil & gas prospection in the past weeks.

 

 

 

Obituary:

Dr. Raymond Duguy (1927 – 2012)

Dr. Raymond Duguy was the founder of the cetacean, pinniped and turtle stranding programme in France, and the “grand old man” of modern marine mammalogy in France. Although he was educated and first worked as a medical doctor, his passion for reptiles led to him to study freshwater turtles and adders throughout France. These activities led him to eventually become appointed as director of the Museum of Natural History in La Rochelle, a task that he fulfilled for more than 30 years, from 1961 until his retirement in 1992. A mass stranding event of long-finned pilot whales, occurred in 1963, provided the impetus for his greater involvement into marine mammal science and conservation, which led to his creation of the Oceanographic Museum of La Rochelle, which he directed from 1972 until 1992. The systematic collection and scientific examination of marine mammals (cetaceans and pinnipeds) stranded along the coasts of France, performed by the Centre National d'Etudes des Mammifères Marins which he founded and animated,  remains one of his greatest legacies, and a model for similar stranding networks which were developed throughout continental Europe in the following decades.  For many years, Dr. Duguy has also been one of the pillars of the Study Group on marine mammals of the Monaco-based International Commission for the Scientific Exploration of the Mediterranean (CIESM).

 

 

Book Review

Maddalena Bearzi & Craig Stanford. 2010. Beautiful minds: the parallel lives of great apes and dolphins. Harvard University Press. 368 p. ISBN 978-0674046276

The observation that dolphins are sophisticated animals, with a behaviour that differentiates them from the fishes they look so similar to, had not escaped the earlier zoologists such as Aristotle, more than 2000 years ago.  Indeed, modern zoologists recognise that dolphins are endowed with a brain of extraordinary size and complexity, comparable to that of primates, and ultimately, of ourselves. But does a large brain entail possessing and equally large, sophisticated, “beautiful” mind? Indeed it does, and Maddalena Bearzi and Craig Stanford walk the reader through this fascinating inquiry comparing dolphin and primate behaviours and cognition abilities. Unsurprisingly for those who have spent time observing and admiring dolphins, the picture that emerges from the book is one of an extraordinary intellectual resemblance, in terms of complexity of social interactions and communication abilities, between two mammals that could not look more different, and that have had no common ancestor in least 70 million years.  Maddalena Bearzi, a dolphin biologist, and Craig B. Stanford, a primatologist, who have both spent decades studying dolphins and apes, respectively, in their natural habitats, combine and compare their observations and insights, and tell us a fascinating story of the parallel evolution of dolphins and apes. This is a delightful book that can be read in one breath, entertaining and at the same time evocative of the compelling need to protect these mammals, which are tied together not only by their “beautiful minds” but also, unfortunately, by their uncertain future due to destructive human activities and progressive encroachment of their habitats.