Franciscana conservation efforts Pablo Bordino AquaMarina CECIM Konferencja współfinansowana przez Unię Europejską ze środków Europejskiego Funduszu Rozwoju Regionalnego w ramach Programu Infrastruktura i Środowisko
Pablo Bordino, Lic., MSc. Fundacion AquaMarina CECIM Fundacion Vida Silvestre Argentina bordino@aquamarina.org
Franciscana dolphin Franciscana Dolphin Pontoporia blainvillei Length / 174 / 158 cm Weight 52 / 43 Kg Age maturity 2 / 3-4 years Life span 15-20 years Gestation 10-11 11 months Lactation 6-9 months Habitat Coastal- 5nm Diet Bottom dwelling fish Shrimp, squid, octopussy Behavior No aerial display 1-6 individuals
Franciscana dolphin Pontoporia blainvillei 1. Distribution and Population 2. Threats and Status 3. Conservation efforts 4. Future actions
1. Distribution and Populations Endemic Sps. Management areas.
Endemic Coastal SW Atlantic Brazil Uruguay Argentina Defined Stocks 4 Management Areas (Secchi et al. 2003) FMA IV Argentina 15,000 17,000 (Crespo et al. 2010)
Uruguay FM4 Argentina Buenos Aires Province BAP Argentina Buenos Aires Province 36 18 18 S Genetic analysis (Mendez et al 2007, 2010) VHF Radio and Satellite tracking (Bordino et al. 2008, 2010) 0 400km Population units. Small home ranges. 56 46 46 W
2. Threats and Status Fishing and overfishing Vulnerable (IUCN)
In Argentina Fishing & Overfishing 130-200 Gillneters 150-250 Trawlers ~ 70% of coastal FE in ARG. BAP Brazil stream Malvinas stream
Gillneter Villages & Trawler Harbours Franciscana Dolphin In Argentina Buenos Aires Province BAP Northern BAP BSB Bahia Samborombon CSA Cabo San Antonio Convergence and La Plata estuary influence ~ 70% FE ( 40%) ~ 80% landings
Gillnet Artisanal Fishery at BAP. White coracker Micropogonias furnieri Weakfish Cynoscion guatucupa S Fishery Small Scale Spatially Structured Sedentary Stocks Subsistance Economy
1. Bycatch in Gillnets. 650-1100 / year. (Observers on board) > 2% of the stock. > 70% and juveniles. The most threatened Cetacean in the SWA.
In Argentina
2. Changes in food diet. 20 fish 4 crustaceans 2 cephalopds IRI preys Overfishing Trophic cascade (Bordino et al. 2008) (Rodriguez et al. 2010) (Zapata et al. 2010) 3. Pollution Franciscana Dolphin 28% Plastic debris 63% packaging debris 36% fishing gear (Denuncio et al. 2012)
Why bycatch mitigation is necessary? 1. Unsustainable bycatch 2. Higher FE 3. Gillnet tradition Franciscana Dolphin In Argentina 4. Resident populations 5. High bycatch in small home ranges
3. Conservation efforts. Bycatch mitigation Fishery Management Education
Bycatch mitigation Between wish and reality Time area closure is unviable Location of gillnets far away. Use of gillnets as driftnets. Pingers. Switching fishing gear Reflective / Stiff gillnets. Fishery management.
a. Pingers 2000-20032003 Dukane 10 khz Airmar 70 khz (Bordino et al. 2002) (Bordino et al. 2004) Double blind experiment Fish catch Dolphin bycatch Sea lion interaction CPUE analysis & probability of catch
a. Pingers 2000-20032003 1. Highly effectives 2. Dinnerbell (10kHz) 3. Expensive 4. Imported 5. Behavioral response?
b. Switching gillnets with handlines 2004-20072007 (Bordino et al. 2012) Standard gillnets vs. experimental bottom handlines 2 Study areas (BSB and CSA) 10 artisanal fishermen Fish catch Selectivity Wildlife bycatch / biomass Independent Economic analysis
b. Switching gillnets with handlines. (Bordino et al. 2012) 1. Highly effective. 2. Reduced bycatch. 3. Economically viable. 4. New Fishing market. 5. Evaluation at larger scale.
Bottom Gillnets hand-lines Total Number of sets 432 344 Total Fishing effort 3558042 1024678 Average soak time (hs) 24.8 4.4 Total CommercialFish catch (kg) 88414 8621 # of dolphins 87 1 CPUE x 10 3 0.98 0.1 # of sea turtles 62 4 CPUE x 10 3 0.70 0.46 # of sea lion attacks 762 61 APUE x 10 3 0.008 0.007 # of seabirds 0 0 CPUE x 10 3 0 0 Table 1. Interaction of fishing gears with dolphins, sea lions, sea turtles and seabirds during the experiment in 2004-2007. The CPUE and the APUE are expressed / Kg of fish catch. The fishing effort for gillnets and handlines are expressed as m /h and number of hooks/h respectively.
Franciscana dolphin incidentaly caught in a handline outisde the experimental framework in Bahia Samborombon (BSB).
C. Reflective & stiff gillnets. 2009-20112011 Considerable focus on increasing acoustic and mechanical properties of gillnets with denser materials as BaSO4. Trippel et al. 2003 Mooney et al. 2004 Larsen et al. 2007 Bordino et al. (unpublished) Northridge et al. (unpublished unpublished)
C. Reflective & stiff gillnets. 2009-20112011 (Bordino et al. 2012) Std vs Reflective vs Stiff gillnets 50% FE replaced BSB as study area 6 artisanal fishermen Fish catch Dolphin / sea turtle bycatch Gillnet behavior
C. Reflective & stiff gillnets. 2009-20112011 (Bordino et al. 2012) 1. NS differences in CPUE fish. 2. NS differences in CPUE dolphin. 3. S net behavior.
Fishery management Habitat use and fishing overlap Satellite tracking Net locations and FE
Satellite tracking BSB 2006-2007-20102010 Franciscana Dolphin 12 Franciscana dolphins (5 > 7900 locations. 7 258 tracking days. > 200 Net locations in 2010. 1. Overlap with fishing / year. 2. Overlap with FE.
Gillnets FE (m 2 x h x day) Franciscana Dolphin BSB 2004-2010 Coast Guard reports Interviews Field observations Low: <900 Medium: > 900 and <3600 High: > 3600
Successfull strategy? a. Ecosystem approach. b. Socio-cultural cultural and economic aspects. c. Stakeholders Consensus.
Stakeholders Consensus Strategy used in BSB. Franciscana Dolphin 1. Discusion 2. Experimenting 3. Implementation 4. Evaluation 5. Monitoring
Consensus Strategy for implementation Franciscana Dolphin Evaluation & monitoring Certification New fishing market Minimum productivity Use of mitigation tools Gillnet FE reduction
Is it effective? feasible? practical? accepted? profitable? Sustainable?
Education Franciscana Dolphin Different levels Informal approach Kindergarten Primary High School 2011 11talks Puppet show Art events 400 kids & 80 teens
Education Franciscana Dolphin Different levels Informal approach Universities 2011 Field internships Training opportunities Mentoring 3 local interns 1 foreign intern 1 finished thesis
4. Future actions. On going Research and Education Management NAP for MARMAM Conservation
Future Actions 1. Research (2013) a. Abundance and status evaluation at each FMA 4 population b. Large scale handlines experiment & initial implementation c. New bycatch mitigation approaches d. Satellite tagging offshore e. Photo identification 2. Outcome for Management (2015) a. Artisanal fishermen implement bycatch mitigation strategy b. 25% bycatch reduction in priority populations for FMA 4 c. BAP Fishery Department adopts management strategy d. Effective enforcement by consensus e. Effective communication
Acknowledgements Franciscana Dolphin Volunteer students at AquaMarina and FVSA. UAPA Artisanal Fishermen.
Thank you.
Konferencja współfinansowana przez Unię Europejską ze środków Europejskiego Funduszu Rozwoju Regionalnego w ramach Programu Infrastruktura i Środowisko