Long-beaked and short-beaked common dolphins sympatric off central-west Africa. Scientific Committee document SC/49/SM46, International Whaling Commission, Bournemouth, UK

Sympatric occurrence of Delphinus capensis and D. Delphis is demonstrated for Gabon and Angola based on cranial evidence. As in eastern Pacific common dolphins, key characteristics include cranial size, rostrum length relative to zygomatic width and tooth width. Two phenotypes of the proximal part of the palatinal ridge are found to be discriminatory between both Delphinus species

Bushmeat and bycatch: the sum of the parts

In many developing countries, the killing of wild animals for commercial purposes (the bushmeat trade) is a significant factor in the reduction of biodiversity, and probably represents a major threat to the survival of many more populations than we know. This includes marine species such as cetaceans, sea turtles and sirenians (‘marine bushmeat’), which are often neglected in the discussion of this issue. Estimating the impact of the bushmeat trade anywhere is problematic because even the most thorough visual surveys of meat markets cannot easily translate an observed quantity of butchered products into the number of animals killed. In this issue of Molecular Ecology, Baker et al. provide a powerful new tool for such assessments: molecular identification of commercially available products from a depleted population of minke whales in South Korea is combined with genotyping and novel capture–recapture methods to estimate not only the number of individuals taken, but also the persistence of the resulting products in the marketplace

A note on the southern distribution range of inshore and offshore common bottlenose dolphins <i>Tursiops truncatus</i> in the Southeast Pacific. Scientific Committee document SC/60/SM18, International Whaling Commission, June 2008, Santiago, Chile

Both inshore and offshore forms of T. truncates occur off Peru and Chile. The inshore form in Chile is best documented from a single community resident around 29°S, while there is genetic evidence for a large, wide-ranging Peru-Chile offshore population. Oliver (1946) indicated T. truncates for the Gulf of Arauco (at 37°06’S,73°20’W) and despite there was no authentication for half a century it has been the accepted southernmost range in the SE Pacific. However five recent records shift the focus further south to Región de Aisén. In August 2004 two common bottlenose dolphins stranded at Isla Quenu (41°49'.41S,73°9'.01W); next a mother-calf pair was reported inside a fjord at ca. 42°22’S,72°24’W. From habitat and small group size an inshore form was suspected. However, three new sightings of large group size (40-120 individuals) between 43°-45°S in January and December 2007 compelled us to reevaluate the southern distribution range of the species and of each form/ecotype. The bottlenose dolphins were morphologically (very large, stocky bodies with short snout) and behaviourally (large group size) attributable to an offshore form, despite being encountered deep inside fjords of Chilean Patagonia, one at ca. 50 nmiles from open water. All groups were actively attracted to a large RIB and both video and still photographs were collected as voucher material. Our records extend the summer range of T. truncates in the SE Pacific south to 45°05'.597S,73°19'.996W, Magdalena Island, however we expect that additional survey effort may extend this even farther. The population will need to be identified with precision to allow management recommendations

Whale mortality from ship collisions underreported, case studies from Ecuador and West Africa. Scientific Committee document SC/57/BC1, International Whaling Commission, May-June 2005, Ulsan, Korea

We document two cases of whales struck by container cargo vessels, one each in the Southeast Pacific and the Eastern Tropical Atlantic. The 207m-length P&O Nedlloyd Pantanal collided with an adult Bryde’s whale Balaenoptera edeni in the southern Gulf of Guayaquil, Ecuador, on 10 December 2004. The whale, pinned on the bow, showed massive hypodermal hematoma indicating that it was alive when struck. In a similar case off West Africa, the container ship OSNA Bruck arrived at Dakar port, Senegal, on 19 March 1998 with the fresh carcass of a juvenile sei whale B. borealis wrapped on the bow bulb. Collision occurred between Las Palmas, Canary Islands, and Dakar, Senegal. A review of previous cases show that ship strikes are rarely reported in these regions, partly due to the lack of regulations including obligation to report collisions. In both instances the crew was aware of the event only upon arrival at port, suggesting that whales which are hit and killed or wounded, but do not become wedged on the bow go entirely unnoticed. These are the first fatal whale collisions documented in Ecuador and West Africa south of Canary Islands, and the first of a Bryde’s whale in the Southeast Pacific. National authorities are encouraged to improve data collection and introduce regulations including obligatory reporting

Whale mortality from ship strikes in Ecuador and West Africa

We document two unusual cases of a Bryde's and a sei whale struck by container cargo vessels and draped over the bow bulb, respectively in the Southeast Pacific and the Eastern Tropical Atlantic. The 207m-length P&O Nedlloyd Pantanal collided with an adult Bryde's whale Balaenoptera edeni in the southern Gulf of Guayaquil, Ecuador, on 10 December 2004. The whale showed massive dermal hematoma indicating that it was alive when struck. Similarly, the container ship OSNA Bruck arrived at Dakar port, Senegal, on 19 March 1998 with the fresh carcass of a juvenile sei whale B. borealis on its bow bulb. The collision occurred between Las Palmas, Gran Canaria and Dakar, Senegal. Freshly dead balaenopterids can hardly be picked up by ships since they sink at death and do not float until decomposition and bloating sets in. A review of previous cases show that ship strikes are rarely recorded in these regions, partly due to the lack of regulations, including no reporting obligation. However, the case studies reveal that another factor may severely augment under-reporting of ship strike mortality. In both instances the crew became aware of the collision only upon arrival at port, suggesting that whales which are hit and killed or wounded, but do not become draped over the bow bulb (if the vessel has one), go unnoticed. The probability of bow draping may be low, and modelling should be attempted. National authorities are encouraged to improve data collection and introduce regulations such as mandatory reporting. These are the first fully documented, fatal whale collisions in Ecuador and West Africa (south of the Canary Islands), and the first struck and killed Bryde's whale in the Southeast Pacific