Widespread Use of Migratory Megafauna for Aquatic Wild Meat in the Tropics and Subtropics

Wild animals are captured or taken opportunistically, and the meat, body parts, and/or eggs are consumed for local subsistence or used for traditional purposes to some extent across most of the world, particularly in the tropics and subtropics. The consumption of aquatic animals is widespread, in some places has been sustained for millennia, and can be an important source of nutrition, income, and cultural identity to communities. Yet, economic opportunities to exploit wildlife at higher levels have led to unsustainable exploitation of some species. In the literature, there has been limited focus on the exploitation of aquatic non-fish animals for food and other purposes. Understanding the scope and potential threat of aquatic wild meat exploitation is an important first step toward appropriate inclusion on the international policy and conservation management agenda. Here, we conduct a review of the literature, and present an overview of the contemporary use of aquatic megafauna (cetaceans, sirenians, chelonians, and crocodylians) in the global tropics and subtropics, for species listed on the Appendices of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS). We find that consumption of aquatic megafauna is widespread in coastal regions, although to varying degrees, and that some species are likely to be at risk from overexploitation, particularly riverine megafauna. Finally, we provide recommendations for CMS in the context of the mandate of the Aquatic Wild Meat Working Group.Additional co-authors: Jeffrey W. Lang, Sigrid Lüber, Charlie Manolis, Grahame J. W. Webb and Lindsay Porte

Widespread use of migratory megafauna for aquatic wild meat in the tropics and subtropics

Wild animals are captured or taken opportunistically, and the meat, body parts, and/or eggs are consumed for local subsistence or used for traditional purposes to some extent across most of the world, particularly in the tropics and subtropics. The consumption of aquatic animals is widespread, in some places has been sustained for millennia, and can be an important source of nutrition, income, and cultural identity to communities. Yet, economic opportunities to exploit wildlife at higher levels have led to unsustainable exploitation of some species. In the literature, there has been limited focus on the exploitation of aquatic non-fish animals for food and other purposes. Understanding the scope and potential threat of aquatic wild meat exploitation is an important first step toward appropriate inclusion on the international policy and conservation management agenda. Here, we conduct a review of the literature, and present an overview of the contemporary use of aquatic megafauna (cetaceans, sirenians, chelonians, and crocodylians) in the global tropics and subtropics, for species listed on the Appendices of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS). We find that consumption of aquatic megafauna is widespread in coastal regions, although to varying degrees, and that some species are likely to be at risk from overexploitation, particularly riverine megafauna. Finally, we provide recommendations for CMS in the context of the mandate of the Aquatic Wild Meat Working Group

Biodiversité et habitats: Données des campagnes océanographiques dans la région du Courant des Canaries (CCLME)

Cette présentation résume les données obtenues au cours des 12 campagnes espagnoles et norvégiennes développées sur le plateau et le talus continental, entre les 20 et 2000 m de profondeur, dans la région CCLME, qui pourront être incorporées au SIG régional, dès la publication des résultats. Les bases de données disponibles incluent des informations faunistiques et paramètres environnementaux pris en 1350 stations de chalutage de fonds, 24 pélagiques et 449 échantillonnages du plancton, 209 dragages du benthos, 1269 stations de CTD et 966 heures (11,398 km) d’observations de mammifères et oiseaux marins. L’incorporation de ces informations au SIG permettra visualiser les cartes de distribution à l’échelle régionale des types de sédiments et variables océanographiques, des espèces demersales, benthiques et pélagiques, cétacés et oiseaux marins, (incluant celles vulnérables, en liste rouge ou endémiques), et leurs densités et biomasses. Comme produit final on aboutira à une vision globale de la biodiversité et des facteurs affectant sa distribution en Afrique noroccidental, ainsi que à la caractérisation et localisation des sites d’intérêt écologique ou biologique, ‘hot-spots’ de la biodiversité, écosystèmes vulnérables et aires marines protégées. Certains écosystèmes ont déjà été localisés dans le talus de la Mauritanie (géant récif corallien, canyons et montagne sous-marins) et du Maroc (canyon d’Agadir, communautés des grandes éponges et gorgonaires), ainsi que dans le plateau des îles de Cap Vert (fonds d’éponges, gorgonies et d’autres suspensivores). Une population de baleines jubartes provenant de l'hémisphère sud a été découverte d'occuper le plateau continental entre Conakry et la péninsule du Cap-Vert. Tandis que les analyses se développent et le processus d’identification taxonomique se finalise, le SIG pourrait inclure des informations déjà disponibles sur la localisation des mangroves, des 20 AMP et des 40 sites côtiers d’intérêt écologique; une révision exhaustive des contenus des projets internationaux développés dans la région (SIAP, BAGIS, ODINAFRICA) et de la bibliographie existante (Maurin, 1968; Bonnet et al., 1971; Domain, 1980; Lelouf, 1993, entre autres) permettrait compléter aussi la cartographie bionomique.FAO, NORA

Data from: Genetic variation in blue whales in the eastern Pacific: implication for taxonomy and use of common wintering grounds

Many aspects of blue whale biology are poorly understood. Some of the gaps in our knowledge, such as those regarding their basic taxonomy and seasonal movements, directly affect our ability to monitor and manage blue whale populations. As a step towards filling in some of these gaps, microsatellite and mtDNA sequence analyses were conducted on blue whale samples from the Southern Hemisphere, the eastern tropical Pacific (ETP), and the northeast Pacific. The results indicate that the ETP is differentially used by blue whales from the northern and southern eastern Pacific, with the former showing stronger affinity to the region off Central America known as the Costa Rican Dome, and the latter favoring the waters of Peru and Ecuador. Although the pattern of genetic variation throughout the Southern Hemisphere is compatible with the recently proposed subspecies status of Chilean blue whales, some discrepancies remain between catch lengths and lengths from aerial photography, and not all blue whales in Chilean waters can be assumed to be of this type. Also, the range of the proposed Chilean subspecies, which extends to the Galapagos region of the ETP, at least seasonally, perhaps should include the Costa Rican Dome and the eastern North Pacific as well

William Fergus Perrin - a marine mammalogist ‘for all seasons’ : 20 August 1938 – 11 July 2022

This is an obituary for William F. Perrin

Widespread Use of Migratory Megafauna for Aquatic Wild Meat in the Tropics and Subtropics

Wild animals are captured or taken opportunistically, and the meat, body parts, and/or eggs are consumed for local subsistence or used for traditional purposes to some extent across most of the world, particularly in the tropics and subtropics. The consumption of aquatic animals is widespread, in some places has been sustained for millennia, and can be an important source of nutrition, income, and cultural identity to communities. Yet, economic opportunities to exploit wildlife at higher levels have led to unsustainable exploitation of some species. In the literature, there has been limited focus on the exploitation of aquatic non-fish animals for food and other purposes. Understanding the scope and potential threat of aquatic wild meat exploitation is an important first step toward appropriate inclusion on the international policy and conservation management agenda. Here, we conduct a review of the literature, and present an overview of the contemporary use of aquatic megafauna (cetaceans, sirenians, chelonians, and crocodylians) in the global tropics and subtropics, for species listed on the Appendices of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS). We find that consumption of aquatic megafauna is widespread in coastal regions, although to varying degrees, and that some species are likely to be at risk from overexploitation, particularly riverine megafauna. Finally, we provide recommendations for CMS in the context of the mandate of the Aquatic Wild Meat Working Group