Dear MARMAM community, My co-authors and I are pleased to share with you our new paper on historical killings of small cetaceans in Oceanography and Marine Biology: An Annual Review:
Petitguyot, M.A.C., Bearzi, G., van den Hurk, Y., Tejedor Fuentes, M., and Pierce, G.J. 2024. Intentional killings and culling of small cetaceans due to perceived competition with fisheries in the Mediterranean Sea and Northeast Atlantic between the eighteenth and twentieth centuries. Oceanography and Marine Biology: An Annual Review, 62: 120-162. The paper is open access and available online at: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/reader/download/f1ac4d9f-60c6-4201-92f0-90dcbfee5cee/chapter/pdf?context=ubx Abstract: Between the eighteenth and twentieth centuries, many small cetaceans (particularly dolphins) were killed in large numbers off the coasts of Europe and North Africa, due to perceived competition with fisheries. Dolphins were long considered as pests, responsible for reduced fish catches and damage to fishing gear. This conflict was particularly acute between the second half of the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century, when governments from various countries encouraged and subsidised the extermination of small cetaceans. While the precise number of killings and the effects these had on the past and current status of cetacean populations are largely unknown, historical records and osteological collections can help us appreciate their magnitude. Here we first summarise information available regarding conflict between fishers and small cetaceans in various countries around the Mediterranean and Northeast Atlantic. Then, based on an extensive analysis of historical literature that included landing and bounty reports, and on a review of osteological collections, we provide new and extensive information on conflicts in France and Algeria. For France and Algeria, we (1) provide information regarding the context and chronology of killings and culling campaigns, (2) describe the methods used to deter and kill cetaceans, (3) identify the species affected, and (4) attempt to quantify the number of individuals killed. Our results suggest that tens of thousands of small cetaceans were killed in France and Algeria, primarily between the 1880s and the 1930s. Total mortality of small cetaceans due to human conflict in the Mediterranean Sea and Northeast Atlantic is certainly much higher, as that includes the killings in all other countries where similar conflicts existed. Such a high mortality likely had an important negative impact on dolphin population trajectories, particularly in the Mediterranean Sea. In the second half of the twentieth century, intentional killings largely stopped, but small cetaceans became exposed to a variety of other anthropogenic threats. Reconstructing past mortality can help us understand current population trends, viability and potential for recovery, as well as help us to set meaningful baselines for conservation. For questions about the paper, please email me at mpetitgu...@iim.csic.es Best wishes, -- Marie Petitguyot Institute of Marine Research - Spanish National Research Council Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas - IIM-CSIC C/ Eduardo Cabello, 6 CP 36208 Vigo (Pontevedra) Spain
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