THE CHALLENGE
As humans we are one of the
most advanced life forms on Earth – at least in terms of the impact we have
on our planet and those with whom we share it. We have
a responsibility to consider our actions and to modify
them when necessary. Our planet is misrepresented by
its title, Earth. Living on a planet with 75% of its
surface under water, we might consider a more appropriate
name, like " Planet Ocean"! Some of our planet's
most beguiling creatures live in the ocean, including
dolphins, porpoises, and whales. These animals are threatened
by human action. In some cases these animals are killed indirectly,
as in fishing nets. Some cultures slaughter dolphins
and whales directly, hunting them for
food, bait, or sport. By far the most serious threat
to dolphins,
porpoises and whales comes in the form of pollution:
both marine debris and invisible toxins we create every
day.
Cetaceans are intelligent, air breathing, highly evolved
mammals with complex societies and systems of communication.
Some species are curious about, and friendly towards,
people, and we in turn are charmed by their beauty and
grace. Yet careless and destructive practices and a lack
of respect for our Planet Ocean may cause many species
to disappear forever.
It is not too late for humans to learn to live responsibly,
allowing the continued survival of all creatures and
the continued health of this planet. The task is great,
but not insurmountable if we each consider the influence
we have in our personal lives and how much we can accomplish
together. Each one of us can make a difference if we
are willing to take an active role. The plight of the
dolphin is representative of the status of all life on
our Ocean planet; humanity is part of that life. If we
save the dolphins, we also are saving ourselves.
THE POLLUTION PROBLEM
Marine debris is anything from a discarded
sandwich bag to a lost fishing net. Every ocean in the
world is littered with some form of debris, which resembles
food for marine life. Many animals accidentally eat marine
debris causing internal injury, intestinal blockage,
and starvation.
Getting tangled up in floating debris
is another serious and growing problem for marine mammals.
Entanglement is an especially serious threat to young
marine mammals that tend to be curious and careless.
Once a young animal becomes entangled, it dies a slow
and painful death as its growing body is restricted by
debris.
At least 43% of all marine mammal species and
44% of all seabird species become entangled in or ingest
marine debris each year . Some of these include
the most endangered marine species in U.S. waters:
Hawaiian monk seals, hawksbill and green sea turtles,
West Indian manatees, and right whales.
Almost everything we use has the potential to become
marine debris, from the bottle of milk in the refrigerator
to the refrigerator itself. The largest source of marine
debris is runoff from land-based sources, such as storm
sewers and parking lots. That means that the garbage
we create each day is most likely what will
end up in the oceans affecting dolphins, whales, and
other marine life.
Toxins enter the marine environment
through land-based runoff and air pollution as well as
ocean dumping. Things we use every day, like automobiles,
air conditioners, and household products, create many
toxins. Researchers routinely find high levels of toxins
in the blubber of stranded marine mammals.
For years we dumped heavy metals and organic pollutants
into our oceans thinking it was a resource so vast it
could absorb any and all materials. It now seems that
the oceans are finally becoming saturated. The evidence
is in the marine life itself. Fish, turtles, and, most
recently, dolphins are now growing cancerous tumors.
There is also evidence that pollution in our oceans is
weakening the immune systems of marine mammals.
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which are linked
to immune system suppression and reproductive
failure, exist in extremely high levels in the
blubber of dead dolphins and whales in many parts of
the world. PCBs are a form of industrial waste now illegal
in the United States, but they are still leaching into
our waterways from landfills.
With suppressed immune systems, dolphins may succumb
to bacterial and viral infections they could otherwise
fight off. Morbillivirus is
the virus that causes distemper in dogs and measles in
people. It is believed that dolphins become susceptible
to morbillivirus because toxins in their environment
compromise their immune systems.
The Armed Forces Institute of Pathology implicated
morbillivirus infection as a primary factor in the deaths
of more than 700 bottlenose dolphins along the U.S. mid-Atlantic
coast in 1987-1988, more than 17,000 harbor seals in
the North Sea in 1988, and more than 1,000 striped dolphins
in the Mediterranean Sea in 1990-1991. Researchers also
discovered a strain of morbillivirus in bottlenose dolphins
in the Gulf of Mexico. (There is no evidence that the
strains of morbillivirus infecting marine mammals can
infect people.)
PERSONAL CHOICES
Think about everything you do in relation to how it
might affect the ocean, and ultimately dolphins. Each
day you have the opportunity to choose,
and to change your behavior. Do not
support the production of wasteful or harmful products
by contributing to the demand for them. Support
responsible manufacturers by choosing their
products -- even if it means spending a little more.
By using recycled or recyclable items, buying in bulk
instead of many little packages, and, whenever possible,
simply reusing what you can, you can significantly reduce
the amount of waste YOU create. For example if all our
newspaper was recycled we could save about 250,000,000
trees each year. You can walk one mile along an average
highway in the United States and see about 1,457 pieces
of litter.
Industry creating large-scale pollution is not the
greatest cause of the ocean's decline. Industry responds
to the needs of consumers; namely you and me. No matter
where you live, your personal choices affect the health
of the oceans. Americans use an incredible amount of plastics,
most of it for packaging. Currently
only about 3% of the plastic waste stream is recycled.
Where does the rest of it go? It is believed that hundreds
of millions of pounds of plastics are lost or dumped
into the oceans each year. Out of every $10 spent on
buying things, $1 (10%) goes for packaging that is thrown
away. Packaging represents about 65% of household trash.
Household chemicals that go down your
drain, and toxic chemicals commonly used for weed and
pest control for your lawn, can contribute to groundwater
contamination and eventually affect the health
of our oceans. The average American home generates 20
lbs of household waste annually that contains hazardous
material. Five-15% of what we throw away contains hazardous
material. Devastating pollution also comes from the manufacture
of plastics and other products we use at home, such as
oven cleaner, furniture polish, and laundry soap.
Sewage and runoff from excess fertilizer
feeds the growth of algae, which not only produce toxins,
but also rob the water of huge amounts of oxygen needed
by other forms of aquatic life to survive. Anything that
upsets the delicate balance of the natural food web can
ultimately destroy those species at the top: dolphins,
whales, and humans.
Certain chemicals such as DDT and PCBs disrupt biological
processes and cause widespread sterility, cancers and
genetic abnormalities in populations of land animals.
Our lack of scientific knowledge about the normal levels
and effects of biological and chemical toxins, and about
bacterial and viral infections in fish and marine mammals,
limits our efforts to understand or prevent die-offs.
Husbandry
records on dolphins in human care are
of critical importance both for monitoring the health
of individual animals and for building baseline data
on what is normal for a healthy dolphin. Only by
establishing such norms can we accurately assess
the condition of marine mammals that strand or wash
up dead on our shores.
We also must continue to gather information on contaminants
and their effects on marine species. High standards for
clean air and water must be established and maintained
globally, and each of us must examine our personal habits
to evaluate the effect we are having on the environment.
Remember, what affects dolphins, affects us.
INDIRECT THREATS TO DOLPHINS
Dolphins and the Tuna Fishing Industry
What are the problems and how have we tried
to fix them?
The trouble for dolphins is that mature yellowfin tuna
in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean (ETP) swim beneath
their pods. Both tuna and dolphin are predators that
eat squid and small fishes. They do not seem to compete
for food or cooperate with each other. It is uncertain
why, only in this area, this unique relationship exists
between schools of mature yellowfin tuna and spotted,
spinner, and common dolphins. In the late 1950s fishermen
began using dolphins, easily visible on the ocean's surface,
to locate tuna swimming underneath. Purse seines, the
nets used to catch yellowfin tuna, encircle dolphins
in a procedure called a 'set.' Once the set is complete
the net is 'pursed' closed, capturing both tuna and dolphins.
During the early years of
purse seining, tens of thousands of dolphins routinely
drowned in nets – over 350,000
each year! Concern over the high number of dolphin deaths
helped inspire the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA)
of 1972, which restricted the killing of marine mammals.
U.S. vessels, required to obey the MMPA, stopped killing
so many dolphins.
The MMPA changed in 1984 and again in 1988, allowing
only nations with strict tuna/dolphin programs to sell
their tuna in the U.S. Fishermen responded by working
to reduce dolphin deaths mainly by 'backing down' their
nets after encircling the dolphins. Dolphins escaped
over the lowered back end of the net before it closed
to capture the tuna.
U.S. consumers concerned
about dolphins started boycotting tuna in the late
1980s. In response to public pressure, major canneries
stopped buying tuna caught using nets set around dolphins.
In 1990 legislation passed requiring a "dolphin-safe" label
on tuna. Consumers considered their battle won.
Is "Dolphin-safe" tuna
protecting dolphins?
Dolphin-safe tuna is caught
without encircling dolphins. Dolphins may die in different
types of nets outside the ETP to provide tuna labeled
dolphin-safe. Alternative fishing practices in the
ETP include encircling logs and other floating objects,
or encircling free swimming schools of tuna. Unfortunately
these practices kill many other species – all thrown away dead – including
large numbers of shark, wahoo, billfish, endangered sea
turtles, dorado, and immature yellowfin tuna. All of
these species, along with dolphins and many other creatures,
make up the ecosystem of the ETP.
Tuna labeled "dolphin-safe" is
not ecosystem-safe! If a practice is not safe for the
ecosystem, of which dolphins are a part, then it is
not safe for dolphins.
Is there a way to protect dolphins and
their ecosystem?
Protecting dolphins and their ecosystem required negotiations
between nations fishing in the ETP, the tuna industry,
and concerned environmental organizations. The U.S. wanted
to reward foreign nations for their efforts to stop killing
dolphins, but they could not buy tuna from foreign nations,
unless laws changed. Representatives from environmental
groups, the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission,
and 13 nations fishing in the ETP met in 1995 to formalize
previously voluntary efforts. They formed an agreement
called the Panama Declaration.
In August of 1997 the Panama Declaration became part
of U.S. legislation. It allows the U.S. to buy tuna from
foreign fleets who work hard to avoid killing dolphins.
It also makes once voluntary actions mandatory. All fleets
must continue researching safer fishing methods for dolphins
and the marine environment. Foreign nations can now sell
dolphin-safe tuna, as well as tuna caught by encircling
dolphins, in the U.S.
The Panama Declaration included a proposal to change
the definition of the dolphin-safe label. The proposed
new definition would have allowed tuna to receive the
dolphin-safe label no matter what fishing method was
used to provide the tuna, as long as it did not result
in a single dolphin death. An observer on each vessel
would watch every set to be sure not a single dolphin
died. This change faced much opposition because it would
allow tuna to receive the dolphin-safe label even though
the fishermen may have chased or intentionally encircled
dolphins. After a study analyzing the adverse effects
of these practices, as well as numerous legal appeals,
a final ruling on August 9, 2004, decided that the definition
of the dolphin-safe label would not be modified.
Should I stop eating tuna?
Although unlabeled tuna can be sold in the U.S., consumers
already proved their unwillingness to purchase it. Foreign
nations will most likely only export tuna considered
dolphin-safe by U.S. law. Decide if the life of one dolphin
is worth that of thousands of other sea creatures before
buying dolphin-safe tuna. When the time comes to redefine
dolphin-safe, remember that the needs of dolphins connect
to the health of their environment.
If anything is clear, it is that in order to affect
long-range improvements in how we impact dolphins, it
is necessary to think globally and consider the international
implications of our decisions. It is also clear that
there are no simple answers, and our responsibility is
to continue to educate ourselves and look for the best
ways to maintain a balanced and healthy ecosystem worldwide.
DOLPHINS, PORPOISES, WHALES AND OTHER FISHERIES
Gillnets, used in shallow coastal
waters, are two miles long or less and made of finely
woven monofilament nylon designed to snag the gills of
fish, preventing escape. Most are deployed at night;
even animals that use echolocation often do not detect
the nets. Virtually everything that blunders into these
nets becomes entangled and dies.
Gillnetting is banned in North and South Carolina,
Georgia, Texas, California, and Florida. In the Pacific
Northwest and the Atlantic Northeast, gillnetting is
still used to harvest inshore schooling fish. Fishermen
and environmentalists are working together in these areas
to find ways to perpetuate their fishery without harming
non-target species, especially the harbor porpoise. Harbor
porpoise populations on the North Atlantic coast declined
dramatically as a result of gillnetting. Recently developed
technology targeted at warning porpoises away from nets
seems to be working allowing fishermen to maintain their
livelihood without decimating harbor porpoise populations.
Studies have found that harbor porpoises and Hector's
dolphins appear to avoid areas with pingers (Stone et
al. 1997, Culik et al. 2001).
High seas driftnet fishing in the
1980s gave rise to global concern for the ocean ecosystem.
These nets are essentially long gillnets approximately
40 feet deep and extending up to 40 miles. They kill
millions of marine animals indiscriminately. Public
outcry prompted the United Nations to institute
a voluntary ban on high seas driftnetting in 1992. Most
nations cooperated well by imposing regulations on fishing
fleets. For example, Japan no longer licenses vessels
for driftnet fishing. Japan compensated fishermen for
the loss of income, and initiated an enforcement plan
to end illegal driftnetting. South Korea also suspended
all driftnetting, and allocated funds for scrapping or
refitting driftnet vessels. Taiwan required that, in
order to obtain 1993 fishing licenses, all driftnets
be surrendered. They also instituted a vessel buy-back
program, offered low-interest loans for refitting vessels,
and deployed patrol vessels.
In the North Atlantic and Mediterranean Oceans, driftnets
catch billfish, albacore, and other species. The European
Community Council of Fisheries Ministers adopted regulations
restricting the length of driftnets to 2.5 kilometers.
Although Italy and some other nations may illegally fish
with nets longer than 2.5 kilometers, the Italian government
continues to subject violators to fines, suspension of
fishing licenses, and confiscation of nets and fish.
Any form of fishing involves the risk of unintentionally
catching non-target species. Unless the world stops consuming
seafood, an excellent source of protein and the primary
food source of some nations, there will always be some
concern about bycatch. By staying informed about existing
practices and their potential impact, encouraging continuing
research into safer fishing methods, and rewarding the
efforts of commercial fisherman who strive to be more
responsible, we can hopefully sustain marine life as
a renewable resource.
Trawlers, used
to catch schooling fish such as cod, pollock, sole and
other groundfish, operate in the middle and on the bottom
of the water column. In the north Atlantic the once-famous
cod fishery no longer exists due to overfishing. Huge
factory trawlers, capable of harvesting and processing
thousands of pounds of fish daily, depleted fish stocks.
In Alaskan waters, where about 50 of these trawlers still
operate, more than 580 million pounds of dead fish are
discarded annually as bycatch. The depletion of pollock
stocks threatens populations of endangered Steller Sea
Lions.
As factory trawlers exhaust
their options in one area, they move on to new grounds
and repeat the devastating overfishing process. In
New England, where a traditionally lucrative herring
and mackerel fishery supports many local commercial
fishermen, stocks are threatened by an influx of factory
trawlers. As much as 90% of New England’s herring
catch comes from the Gulf of Maine, where a variety
of whales, porpoises, and seals rely on these and other
fish exploited by fisheries.
While entanglement in fishing gear is an obvious threat
to dolphins, whales, and other marine mammals, a more
insidious and potentially more catastrophic danger, is
the destruction of their food web. The worldwide collapse
of fisheries is well documented, and more recently, widely
publicized. As we continue to try harvesting the seas
in a responsible and renewable way, we must remember
to consider the needs of marine animals that survive
on the foods we desire.
DIRECT THREATS TO DOLPHINS
While the thought of purposely killing a dolphin, porpoise,
or whale may seem foreign to many people, it is common
practice in some parts of the world. There are several
reasons why cetaceans are hunted: for food, for bait,
for sport, or for elimination.
Whaling is probably the most
well known form of hunting, and one that not only still
exists, but also is on the rise again worldwide. By
the 1970s the bowhead whale, right whale, blue whale,
humpback whale, and gray whale were nearly extinct
due to overexploitation by whalers. Only the gray whale
has fully recovered from the heyday of whaling. The
original 39 member nations of the International Whaling
Commission (IWC), established to manage the harvest
of whales, adopted a voluntary ban on whaling in 1982.
It went into effect during the 1985-1986 commercial whaling
season. Several member nations were issued permits for "research
whaling" after 1982 and continued to harvest whales.
Research whaling, unfortunately, produced no significant
data and is widely recognized as an excuse for continued
commercial whaling.
In 1994, Norway resumed commercial whaling, against
the recommendation of the IWC, and continues to increase
its take of minke whales each year. Japan and Russia
continue to harvest whales for research against recommendations
of the IWC. Russia, Canada, Iceland, Norway, Japan, and
the United States, among others, allow subsistence whaling
for aboriginal people.
In some cases, interest in whaling is the result of
the depletion of other marine resources. Where fish stocks
have failed, some nations turn to cetaceans as the next
most logical resource to exploit. Because cetaceans do
not reproduce the way fish do, it is not possible to
harvest them at the same rate and allow the species to
perpetuate. This basic principle of biology is not understood
in areas where dolphins and other small whales are routinely
caught.
In areas of South America, Japan, and Indonesia, coastal
whaling for small cetaceans is prevalent and unregulated.
Populations of small coastal whales, dolphins and porpoises
primarily, may disappear in the near future due to lack
of awareness and absence of regulation. In South America
small cetaceans are cut up and used for bait in the lucrative
snow crab fishery. In Japan and Indonesia, coastal whaling
provides a food source for a dense and hungry population.
YOU CAN HELP
Make a difference by staying informed about current
environmental issues and by educating those around you.
You have the power to make this planet a better place
to live for dolphins as well as humans.
Contacting your congressperson is an extremely effective
way to help create change. Telephone calls have the most
impact, but email, postal mail, and faxes are also very
important. Be sure, if you choose to make your voice
heard, that you know what you are saying. Doing your
homework on issues you feel strongly about is absolutely
essential before lending your support, or opposition,
to any cause.
When writing to your Senator or Representative, be
concise; make it less than one page, two paragraphs are
best. In the first paragraph identify yourself, your
affiliation, and your major concern. Use your second
paragraph to explain why your concerns are important
and worthwhile. End your letter with your postal address.
Senators and Representatives are concerned about keeping
their own constituents happy! Try to put each letter
in your own words and be formal and to the point. Be
personal, but not insulting.
Congressional Contacts
Capitol Switchboard: (202) 224
3121
To check the status of Bills
in the House & Senate:
(202) 225-1772
President’s email:
president@whitehouse.gov
Vice President’s email:
vice-president@whitehouse.gov
To find your local Representative and Senator: www.visi.com/juan/congress/
To address your letter use the
following format:
The Honorable (your senator) The Honorable
(your representative)
U.S. Senate U.S.
House of Representatives
Washington , D.C.
20510 Washington, D.C. 20515
Maintain contact with, and support, trusted and reputable
environmental organizations such as:
Dolphin Research Center
58901 Overseas
Hwy
Grassy Key, Fl. 33050
www.dolphins.org
The Ocean Conservancy
1300 19 th
Street NW
8 th Floor
Washington , D.C. 20006
www.oceanconservancy.org
IUCN - International Union for
Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources
Rue Mauverney
28
Gland
1196
SWITZERLAND
www.iucn.org
World Wildlife Fund
1250 24 th
Street NW
PO Box 97180
Washington , D.C. 20090-7180
www.wwf.org
References
The American Cetacean Society. 1990. They're Not
Saved Yet, Proceedings of the Fourth Biennial Conference, Monterey,
California. The American Cetacean Society, San Pedro,
CA.
Brownell, R. 1989. "The
Plight of the Forgotten Whales," Oceanus, 32(1):5. Woods Hole Oceanographic
Institution, Woods Hole, MA.
Center for Marine Conservation. 1990. Dolphins:
Species in Critical Danger. Center for Marine
Conservation, Washington, DC.
Center for Marine Conservation. 1990. Threats Facing
Dolphins in the 1990's.
Center for Marine Conservation, Washington, DC.
Donoghue, Michael and Anne Wheeler. 1989. Save
the Dolphins. Sheridan House: NY.
Faast, Susan, and Laura Urian.
1994. "What You
Can Do to Save Dolphins...And the Environment We Share." Available
from the Dolphin Research Center, 58901 Overseas Hwy,
Grassy Key, FL 33050.
Hofman, Robert J. 1989. "The
Marine Mammal Act: A First of Its Kind Anywhere," Oceanus, 32(1):21.
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA.
May, John, ed. 1990. Greenpeace Book of Dolphins.
Sterling: NY.
National Research Council. 1992. Dolphins and the
Tuna Industry. National Academy Press: Wachington
DC.
Norris, Kenneth. 1992. "Dolphins
in Crisis," National
Geographic, 182(3): 2-35. National Geographic
Society, Washington, D.C.
Payne, Roger. 1990. "Threats
to the Survival of Whales and Dolphins," Animal Welfare Institute
Quarterly, 39(2).
Perrin, W.F. (compiled by). 1988. Dolphins, Porpoises,
and Whales: An Action Plan for the Conservation of
Biological Diversity: 1988-1992. Available from
IUCN Publications Services, 219C Huntington Rd., Cambridge
CB3 ODL, UK.
 Copyright © 2007 Dolphin Research Center
Information Can Be Used with Proper Citing
Dolphin Research Center, 58901 Overseas Highway, Grassy Key, FL 33050-6019
305-289-1121 www.dolphins.org
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