Book review: The Conservation of Whales and Dolphins: Science and Practice, edited by M.P. Simmonds and J.D. Hutchinson, John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester, UK, 1996 xv + 476pp. Price £60. ISBN 0 471 96561 8.
✍ Scribed by MARK L. TASKER
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1997
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 62 KB
- Volume
- 7
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 1052-7613
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
Of all marine creatures, dolphins and whales have probably experienced the greatest change in attitudes from humans in the past century. At the start of the century, the large whales were regarded as an easy source of profit through hunting. Now at the end of the century, whaling is but a vestige of the former industry, while whale-watching must be one of the fastest growing tourist phenomena on the planet. The number of cetacean conservationists has grown rapidly in recent years. Tragically, most of the great whale populations remain very seriously depleted, with only some showing signs of recovery. As the title of this book indicates, the editors have brought together a series of chapters about the conservation of cetaceans. The majority of the 22 authors are British, which gives perhaps a slightly biased perspective, but there are some good contributions by authors from elsewhere.
The book is introduced by a brief review of the biology of cetaceans, followed by a summary of the threats they face globally. The 1946 International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling and the subsequent history of the International Whaling Commission is the focus of a chapter on relevant international law. Whaling (including killing of dolphins) continues in various guises. Attitudes to whaling and the driving forces behind the politics of whaling are reviewed. Probably the greatest modern direct threat to most dolphins and porpoises comes from entanglement in man's fishing gear. One marine species, the vaquita of the Gulf of California is very seriously threatened by such entanglement. Some action is finally being taken, but without full removal of gill nets from this area, this may become the first cetacean species to become extinct through human activity.
Chapters on fisheries interactions with harbour porpoises and ecological interactions of cetaceans and fisheries follow. It is surprising that the latter chapter did not deal with the possibility that some cetacean populations may have been positively affected by the consequences of over-removal of competitive fish predators such as cod. The increase in piscivorous diving birds has been attributed to this by several authorities. There may be some positive results (from a cetacean point of view) of human activities. However,