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CETACEANS IN IRISH WATERS: A REVIEW OF RECENT RESEARCH

2009; Royal Irish Academy; Volume: 109; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.3318/bioe.2009.109.2.63

2009-003X

Joanne O’Brien, Simon Berrow, David McGrath, Peter G. H. Evans,

Cephalopods and Marine Biology

To date, 24 cetacean species have been recorded in Irish waters. These are protected by a range of legislation, including the Whale Fisheries Act, the Wildlife Act and the EU Habitats Directive, which oblige Ireland to maintain cetacean populations and their habitat at a favourable conservation status. Policies aiming to maintain conservation objectives must be underpinned by scientifi c research. In this paper, we review historical and recent research on cetaceans in Irish waters (within the EEZ) to evaluate present knowledge and identify gaps in research. This information includes historical (pre-1976) records, targeted and incidental land, vessel and aerial based observations, acoustic surveys and monitoring and information from strandings. The habitat requirements of most cetacean species are not fully understood but some important habitats have been identifi ed. A number of threats to the welfare of cetaceans in Irish waters have also been identifi ed, including fi sheries interactions, pollution, climate change and disturbance. Future research required to fi ll gaps in knowledge highlighted by this manuscript is considered and discussed. Joanne O’Brien (corresponding author; email: joanne.obrien@gmit. ie); David McGrath, Department of Life Sciences, Galway– Mayo Institute of Technology, Dublin Road, Galway; Simon Berrow, Irish Whale and Dolphin Group, Merchants Quay, Kilrush, Co. Clare; Peter Evans, SeaWatch Foundation, 11 Jersey Road, Oxford 0X4 4RT, UK. Cite as follows: O’Brien, Joanne, Berrow, Simon, McGrath, David and Evans, Peter 2009 Cetaceans in Irish waters: A review of recent research. Biology and Environment: Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 109B, 63–88. DOI: 10.3318/ BIOE.2009.109.2.63. Received 13 December 2007. Accepted 29 October 2008. Published 30 July 2009. INTRODUCTION Irish coastal and offshore waters are some of the most important for cetaceans in Europe (Berrow 2001). Over the last two decades, there has been a rapid growth in our knowledge of the ecology of many cetacean species, due to an increase in research effort and the publication of literature. Numbers of cetacean-related publications have been consistently increasing since 1976 (Fig. 1). There has been an increase in national and international legal obligations for the protection of cetaceans and their habitats. Ireland has recently submitted the first conservation assessment of cetaceans under the EU Habitats Directive (NPWS 2008). For the 18 species (not including vagrants) that required an assessment, information on 12 of these species was reported as ‘unknown’, thus their conservation status could not be assessed. Ireland will be required to obtain sufficient information before the next reporting round of the Directive in 2013. In this paper, we review the current knowledge of cetacean ecology and research carried out to date in Irish waters. The overall aim of this review is to draw together all literature in a readily accessible format to identify information gaps and issues that should be addressed in the future, while contributing to the preparation of research and management plans. However, a detailed review and analysis of specific topics was beyond the scope of this paper. LEGISLATION There is a range of legislative instruments in Ireland aimed at protecting and managing cetaceans and their habitats. The first cetacean-related legislation enacted was the Whale Fisheries Act (1937) and associated Statutory Instruments, which required the licensing of all Irish-registered vessels engaged in whaling and banned the taking of (i) immature baleen whales (ii) female baleen whales accompanied by a calf, and (iii) all right whales. The conservation approach to whale and dolphin species was established with the Wildlife Act (1976) and Amendment (2000), which prohibited the hunting, injury, wilful interference and destruction of breeding places of cetaceans within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The Government also issued guidelines to all boat operators in Ireland (Marine Notice no. 15, 2005) under a Statutory Instrument for correct procedures when encountering whales and dolphins, dictating inter alia that boats should not get closer than 100 metres and should maintain a speed of less than 7 knots. Ireland signed the Bern Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (1979), which offers protection to cetacean species. While this legally binding agreement did not extend the legal protection beyond that afforded by the Wildlife Act, it acted as a forerunner to more wide-ranging legislation. The protection of cetaceans was further extended Biology and Environment: Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, Vol. 109B, No. 2, 63–88 (2009). © Royal Irish Academy 63 Biology and Environment through the EU Habitats Directive (1992), which was transposed into Irish law with the European Communities (Natural Habitats) Regulations (94/1997) and Amendment (378/2005). These legislative instruments oblige Ireland to designate Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) for harbour porpoise Phocoena phocoena Linnaeus 1758 and bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus Montagu 1821 and provide strict protection to all cetacean species (listed under Annex IV) within the entire EEZ. Currently two candidate SACs have been designated for harbour porpoises (Blasket Islands and Roaringwater Bay and Islands) and one for bottlenose dolphins (Lower River Shannon) (Fig. 2). This legislation also requires Ireland to undertake surveillance, to form management plans and to ensure that all populations of whale and dolphin species are maintained at a ‘Favourable Conservation Status’ (EEC 1992). Ireland is also party to international conventions that extend beyond the European Community. One of the most notable is the Convention on Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS or Bonn Convention). This United Nations sponsored global agreement currently has 99 signatory countries. One of its outcomes has been the formation of Regional Agreements, including ASCOBANS (Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans in the Baltic Sea and North Sea). The area covered by ACOBANS includes all Irish waters, although Ireland is not yet a signatory. Other international agreements offering protection to cetaceans include the OSPAR Convention (The Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic), which seeks to protect the marine environment and establish Marine Protected Areas for threatened species, and CITES (The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), which forbids the trade of cetacean species or their products beyond international borders. Ireland has also been a participant at the International Whaling Commission since 1985, which currently bans commercial whaling. Ireland has recently ratifi ed the EU By-catch Resolution (814/2004), which requires the use of pingers on gill-nets by certain vessels in some areas and the monitoring of by-catch rate in a range of gill-net and trawl fi sheries.