Scientists Gather in China to Plan for Yangtze Finless Porpoise Conservation

Many are now familiar with the sad story of the vaquita: Just a handful of these dolphins remain in their native range in Mexico’s Gulf of California. Tangled in nets that are set for a highly-prized fish known as totoaba, the vaquita are victims of devastating bycatch. Without aggressive human intervention, these creatures will soon go the way of the baiji, a species of Chinese river dolphin not seen in more than 15 years and considered almost certainly extinct since 2006. This is the fate conservationists would like to avoid for other aquatic mammals, including China’s Yangtze finless porpoise (Neophocaena asiaeorientalis ssp. asiaeorientalis).

A diverse group of Chinese and international biologists, veterinarians and population managers – including CPSG staff – met in Wuhan, China in November to discuss the progress of China’s conservation action plan to save the Yangtze finless porpoise. More than 50 delegates from six countries met for three days of intense work to review the existing national plan, to enhance the chances of its success, and to use it as an example that may be applied worldwide to help other threatened small cetaceans.

Workshop participants agreed on tasks to put the plan for saving the Yangtze finless porpoise into action, including to:

  • Establish a target level of population growth for the natural, in-situ population and design a monitoring program.
  • Continue to support local community monitoring initiatives and enforce laws that end illegal fishing and sand mining.
  • Continue to monitor the health of the porpoise population.
  • Determine the size of the ex-situ population needed to meet the goals of the Action Plan.
  • Establish new ex-situ reserves.
  • Develop a detailed plan to grow the ex-situ population of porpoises as rapidly as possible to minimize the loss of genetic diversity.

The group is preparing a detailed report that highlights the importance of using CPSG’s One Plan Approach for integrating diverse population and habitat management strategies. Details of any recommended actions will be included in the published report from the workshop.

The workshop was organized by the Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and the IUCN Cetacean Specialist Group. Co-Organizers include the Hubei Tian-e-Zhou Baiji National Natural Reserve Administration, Hubei Yangtze Xinluo Baiji National Natural Reserve Administration, Hubei Jianli He-wang-miao/Hunan Huarong Jichengyuan Natural Reserve Administration, Wuhan Baiji Conservation Foundation, World Wildlife Fund and One Planet Foundation and the National Marine Mammal Foundation.

Supporting organizations include the Fisheries Administration Office of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Protection Area Department, State Forestry and Grassland Administration, National Aquatic Wildlife Conservation Association, Zoo Nuremberg, and YAQU PACHA e.V. - Organization for the Conservation of South American Aquatic Mammals.

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