Scheidat, M.

The Yarari Marine Mammal Sanctuary (hereafter simply referred to as the Yarari Sanctuary, or Yarari) was formally established on September 2, 2015. It is currently composed of two sectors: one surrounding Saba and the Saba Bank and one covering the EEZ waters of Bonaire. In order to help establish an effective cetacean conservation management plan for the Saba and Saba Bank sector of the sanctuary we here review the main marine mammal threats, help identify main management goals and make both governance and management recommendations based both on stakeholder interviews and a management review of functioning marine mammal sanctuaries in the Western Atlantic.

There are 8 species of marine mammals known to occur in the windward Dutch Caribbean Yarari Sanctuary. The sanctuary has relatively low levels of human activity. Based on our review, cumulative contaminant impacts – such as oil contamination originating from St. Eustatius – are potentially highest, followed by collision impacts due to the relatively high level of shipping traffic. Other factors such as, fishery entanglement, bycatch-impacts and marine debris impacts are likely low compared to many areas directly outside the sanctuary. While whale & dolphin watching impacts are still probably negligible, the impacts of anthropogenic noise, climate-change impacts and cumulative impacts still remain unknown but are potentially high.

Five main clusters of interrelated goals and objectives were identified based on expert and management stakeholder interviews. The most essential proximate goal for management should be to establish a minimum structural level of institutional capacity. Under the reigning conditions of resource limitation, the next key goal should be to establish effective collaboration towards jointly achieving the higher management goals and objectives.

Based on our review of species, threats, operations of other sanctuaries and expert and stakeholder input we list 23 priority recommendations and action points towards implementation of cetacean conservation for the Saba and Saba Bank Yarari sector. 

           Governance

• Use the Saba Bank Management Unit (SMBU) governance model for Yarari management

  implementation.

• Consider merging Yarari tasks into the SMBU to effectuate resource pooling and prevent

  management fragmentation.

• Legal resources
• Design and implement a simple legal mandate for Yarari management.
• Copy and implement international legal guidelines for whale watching.
• Revise the Fishery Framework Act BES (Vissery Visserijwet besluit BES) or draft a Decree

  (Regeling) under the Nature Conservation Framework Act BES (Wet Grondslagen Natuurbeheer en-bescherming, WGN) to forbid all forms of pelagic (not benthic) longline and purse seine fishing in Yarari waters.

• Devise and implement legal measures and guidelines to safeguard Yarari from anthropogenic noise pollution.
• Finances
• Based on the review of functioning sanctuaries, and current stressor levels, a basic annual budget of US$ 150 K will be sufficient to implement satisfactory marine mammal conservation.
• Focus expenditures on management development, outreach and international cooperation.
• Limit expenditures on costly enforcement and research. Participation in these activities should principally be limited to essential monitoring and practical support of collaborating parties. 

           Personnel and logistics

• Based on the review of functioning sanctuaries, two (additional) personnel members are

  sufficient to effectuate adequate Yarari cetacean conservation.

• The combined personnel should include both technical and boat handling skills as well as

  management development skills for effective local and international policy development

  support and cooperation.

• Saba island is the logical choice for basing Yarari headquarters.
• A larger vessel (than the current Queen Beatrix) is needed for safer and more effective

  operation in Yarari waters.

  Management priorities

• Aim for sanctuary expansion to include St. Maarten and St. Eustatius marine waters (and

  ultimately also Curaçao and Aruba EEZ waters).

• Establish and expand cooperation with local enforcement and research partners.
• Develop close ties with local stakeholders and encourage their active involvement.
• Actively represent Yarari interests in regional marine mammal policy development and

  research initiatives.

  Research priorities

• Use remote methods (AIS) and current port fishery sampling to monitor fishery activity, and

  ship traffic inside Yarari.

• Use passive acoustic monitoring and sighting records to monitor cetacean distribution and

  abundance.

• Use passive acoustic monitoring to measure and follow background noise levels.
• Record and collect data on and specimens from stranding incidents using published guidelines

  and protocols.

• Subsample stranding fatalities to determine contaminant loads of the cetaceans inside Yarari

  and their prey species.

• Document the abundance and source of marine debris found in the sanctuary. 

Knowledge on the density, distribution and occurrence of whales and dolphins in the Caribbean Netherlands is sparse. This knowledge is needed as basic input for conservation and management of cetaceans in the area. Especially in the long term, dedicated data is needed to provide a base-line for monitoring the effect of policy decisions, such as a proposed implementation of a whale sanctuary.

Until recently, knowledge was mainly based on strandings and opportunistic sightings of whales and dolphins. Dedicated data collection, such as obtained from designed aerial or shipboard surveys, will provide reliable and unbiased estimates of abundances and describe distribution patterns and habitat use. However, these types of studies are costly. To explore options on how to bridge the gap between costs (high-low) and data quality (high-low), we investigated a method that could potentially provide long term and cost effective, albeit low quality (in certain aspects), data. In this report we present the results obtained using a port sampling programme used to monitor the fisheries of Saba, St. Eustatius and Bonaire.
During port sampling fishermen were interviewed after returning to the harbour from a fishing trip. The fishermen described their fishing activities and in addition they reported any sightings of whales or dolphins. The study on Saba has included the recording of cetacean sightings since July 2012, the same method has been applied in St. Eustatius since November 2012 and on Bonaire since January 2014. In total 59 different fishing vessels participated in the study (9 Saba, 15 St. Eustatius and 35 Bonaire). The waters around each island were divided into sub-areas to provide data on where the fishing effort took place and where sightings were made. Effort was described as "fishing trips" per sub-area, per month and per island. A total of 1428 days at sea were monitored, with 1020 from Saba, 292 from St. Eustatius and 116 from Bonaire.
During the study a total of 42 whale sightings of 71 individuals was made, of these 36 (62 animals) were recorded in Saba, 2 (2 animals) in St. Eustatius and 4 (4 animals) in Bonaire. There were 93 dolphin sightings consisting of 1362 individual animals. Of these, from Saba there were 71 sightings (877 animals), from St Eustatius 3 sightings (144 animals) and from Bonaire 19 sightings (341 animals).
The relative density (sightings per "fishing trip") showed a pronounced difference in occurrence of cetaceans between islands. The highest relative density of dolphins was found in Bonaire with 0.16 dolphin sightings/fishing trip. The highest relative density of whales was found in Saba with 0.04 whales/fishing trip. Occurrence of whales and dolphins indicated seasonal patterns, in particular for Saba waters where the monitoring ran for several years and most whale and dolphin sightings were in March. The spatial distribution in the Saba study area indicated that dolphins occur regularly on the Saba Bank. In Bonaire the data indicated that an area on the west side of the island and close to shore (<1 km) with high fishing effort also had a high occurrence of cetacean sightings.
An evaluation of the method used indicated that the sampling methodology could be adapted to improve data quality. Most important hereby is a standardization of data collection and data storage between the islands. It also showed that the information provided by the fishermen is very useful in identifying areas of research needed to further investigate cetacean distributional patterns and habitat use around these three islands.
This research was performed within EZ-program Beleidsondersteunend Onderzoek (BO). BO-11-011.05- 034, BO-11-011-05-008. 

Abstract:

At least 33 native species of marine mammals have been documented from the Wider Caribbean Region (WCR). For many of these species, the waters of the region serve as primary habitat for critical activities that include feeding, mating and calving. However, relatively little remains known about their biology, life history, distribution and behavior, particularly also around the windward Dutch islands (Saba, St. Eustatius and St. Maarten). In this study we compiled 84 marine mammal records for the waters of these islands, comprising 9 previously published records and 75 new records. A total of eight distinct species are documented, six of which are cetaceans. In comparison to the leeward Dutch islands (Aruba, Curaçao and Bonaire), documented strandings are few. Results suggest that whereas beaked whales and Bryde’s whale are more common around the leeward Dutch islands, humpback whales are more common around the windward Dutch islands. This study concludes that more dedicated efforts are needed to better document and understand cetacean composition, seasonality and use of the both the windward and leeward Dutch Caribbean maritime territories. Such initiatives should help further clarify any potential regional differences as well the underlying causes thereof. Several nations, including the USA, the Dominican Republic and France, have established marine mammal sanctuaries in their Caribbean waters. Declaring the Dutch EEZ as a marine mammal sanctuary would be a valuable contribution to the conservation of marine mammals in the region. 

Summary:

In November 2013 aerial surveys were conducted for the first time in the Exclusive Economic Zone of Aruba, Curaçao and Bonaire to evaluate aerial surveys as a tool for marine mammal surveys in these waters, and to assess the distribution and abundance of marine mammals. A secondary aim of these surveys was to collect data on the occurrence of other megafauna (e.g. sharks, rays, turtles) and seabirds. Marine mammals were assessed using distance sampling methods; for other species a strip transect method was applied.

Four marine mammal species were sighted, all of them cetaceans: Humpback Whale, Atlantic/Pantropical Spotted Dolphin, Bottlenose Dolphin and Rough-toothed Dolphin. The total number of individuals seen was 107. Numbers of sightings were too low to calculate densities and abundance estimates for any of the species recorded.

In addition to the marine mammals, sharks, rays, turtles and seabirds were recorded. Noteworthy observations include the first record of a (living) Basking shark and records of seabirds that are scarcely documented in these waters: Red-billed Tropicbird and either Great Skua or South Polar Skua. The number of sightings for these groups were too low to calculate densities and abundance estimates for any of the species recorded.

This survey was commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs (EZ), and World Wildlife Fund The Netherlands. 

Summary:

Information on the distribution, abundance and ecology of marine mammal in the Wider Caribbean Region is scarce. This report aims at collating the on-going research in the Wider Caribbean Region, at identifying the most critical knowledge gaps that need to be addressed to inform and facilitate conservation actions and assess the most suitable research techniques to fill these knowledge gaps.

Numerous research activities aiming at marine mammals have been commenced by individual organisations as well as regional or even international collaborations throughout the Wider Caribbean over the past years. These efforts, ranging from visual to acoustic surveys, satellite telemetry, stranding response, and many more, provide valuable insight into important aspects of the ecology of marine mammals and show that the motivation and need to conduct research on marine mammals in the Caribbean waters is high. Due to lack of funds and capacity most current and past cetacean research in the region can be characterised as small-scale, low in sophistication, opportunistic, temporary and local which is a great limitation to the understanding required for proper conservation of this increasingly important resource in this tourism-oriented region. Consequently, if continued with the current level of capacity and expertise, the results will continue to remain limited. There is an urgent need to combine forces, work on a larger geographic scale and use new and innovative techniques if we want to move beyond the current patchwork in activities and understanding. Ideally, all on-going and suggested future research efforts should become integral parts of a joint international research strategy for the wider Caribbean.

The choice of research methods to be used, however, depends in large part on the questions to be answered. Knowledge on temporal and spatial scale of marine mammal occurrence in the Caribbean waters is essential for any effective management and conservation and should have first priority, followed by studies on the effect of anthropogenic activities on marine mammals. In the absence of adequate data on marine mammals in this region, but with cautious extrapolation of knowledge and experience gained in other parts of the world we suggest to concentrate research efforts on visual and acoustic surveys and monitoring, stranding networks and necropsy of stranded animals, along with photo ID and tissue sampling for genetic analysis. All these methods differ in terms of the aims for which they will be suitable. Therefore, the aims must be clear before choosing the method. Research on the diverse groups of marine mammals has to modular and collaborative such that it can be synergistic, provided that there is sufficient collaboration and communication between all parties involved.

Public outreach by involvement of local institutions, marine parks, tour operators as well as communication of any research plan and results to local, regional and international regulators, policy makers and public representatives, plays an equally important role in achieving management and conservation goals.

This report is part of the Wageningen University BO research program (BO-11-011.05-005) and has been financed by the Ministry of Economic Affairs (EZ) under project number 4308701020. 

We here provide a synoptic overview and preliminary update of the marine mammals of the Dutch Caribbean EEZ based on 279 cetacean sighting and stranding records. The Dutch Caribbean EEZ is composed of two distinct sectors. One is centered around the leeward Dutch islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao (71,000 km2) while the other is centered around the windward Dutch islands of Saba, St. Eustatius and St. Maarten (22,000 km2). The previous principal review (of cetaceans) dating from 1998, was based on only 70 records from the leeward sector and confirmed the occurrence of some 13 species for Dutch Kingdom waters. Now, with a 4-fold increase in number of records, 19 species can be documented for the Dutch Kingdom waters (18 species in the leeward sector and 8 species in the windward sector).

The windward sector stands out for its large number of humpback whale sightings (45% of records) and may form part of its former (or current) calving grounds. This species remains relatively rare in the leeward sector (5% of records) and continues to be targeted by aboriginal fishing in its destination wintering grounds to the east, where the relict breeding population is having difficulty to rebound. The species is of growing interest to tourism in the region and urgently needs full protection from all fishing in the southern Caribbean. The leeward EEZ sector further lies down-stream from seasonal upwelling areas off Venezuela that support the largest fishery of the Caribbean. This sector stands out for its high occurrence of beaked whales and the Bryde’s whale. Marine mammal strandings are much more common here (26% of records) than in the northern sector (3% of records). Human induced mortalities (first suggested in 1974) and disturbance due to coastal tourism and recreation are key and growing concerns in the southern Dutch EEZ sector.

The marine mammal fauna of the Dutch Caribbean is evidently rich and varied but continues to suffer man-induced mortality and disturbance. Several nations, including the USA, the Dominican Republic and France, have recently established marine mammal sanctuaries in Caribbean waters. The Netherlands should consider doing the same.

Abstract:

Based on the goals set forth in the Dutch Biodiversity Policy Programme, The Netherlands has a traditionally strong commitment to protect biodiversity and marine mammals both internationally and in its own national and Kingdom waters. Last year the responsible ministry, namely the Netherlands Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation (EL&I), developed a management plan for the biological resources of the recently declared Dutch Caribbean Exclusive Economic Zone. The Dutch Caribbean EEZ was formally declared on June 10, 2010, and amounts to more than 90,000 km2 of diverse tropical marine habitats. One of the key ambition coming forth from that plan was to develop a Dutch Caribbean Marine Mammal Sanctuary (MMS). This report provides the necessary review and background on which to base such an endeavour.

Our updated review establishes beyond doubt that the Dutch Caribbean EEZ has a rich and diverse marine mammal fauna which merits more extensive protection. Even though the fauna is only poorly known, based almost exclusively on incidental sightings and strandings, it amounts to a minimum of 19 marine mammal species, and possibly up to more than 30. Without exception, all documented species appear on protected species lists of one or more treaties ratified by the Kingdom, and/or its constituent countries. Large differences are apparent between the leeward and windward sectors of the Dutch Caribbean EEZ, both in terms of species composition and conservation issues. Throughout the region, cetaceans are playing an increasingly important role in island economies as an important natural attraction for eco-based recreation and tourism, and in this respect the Dutch Caribbean also possesses major potential.

We here propose the establishment of a MMS as the cornerstone to sustainable conservation and management of these charismatic animals. Ecological arguments for the establishment of habitat protection by means of the concept of sanctuaries are outlined, as are the many environmental issues that would eventually need to be addressed within the sanctuary.

Favourable pre-conditions for the establishment of a MMS in the Dutch Caribbean include the fact that

• a) all cetaceans are already have a legal status in the Dutch Caribbean EEZ which calls for actual protection,
• b) the most deleterious fishing practices are already significantly limited and controlled within Kingdom waters,
• c) the key enforcer, namely the Coastguard, is already strongly present (largely due to other reasons),
• d) the islands generally have a strong tradition of marine protected areas in coastal habitat,
• e) the incremental costs for research and enforcement needed to establish a sanctuary is modest,
• f) public support is high, thanks to the generally high level of development and awareness of the public,
• g) indigenous fishery practices do not conflict with cetacean conservation, and
• h) whale watching interests are only in their infancy.

Steps to establish a Marine Mammal Sanctuary (MMS) should include:

• Legal designation of the sanctuary is the first and most important step that provides the framework for all broader (international cooperation) and in-depth (knowledge and conservation development) initiatives.
• Once established, the fuller implementation of an MMS should be seen as a gradual process, involving development of knowledge, policy, rules and regulations, as well as public and stakeholder participation

Management Recommendations:

The following key action points are proposed to establish a Marine Mammal Sanctuary:

• a) Legal designation of the EEZ (one or both sectors) as MMS, along with establishment of legal guidelines for interacting with cetaceans (whale watching).
• b) Establish bonds of cooperation with sister sanctuaries in the region (France, USA, Dominican Republic), (e.g. regional stranding and sightings data network).
• c) Conduct baseline quantitative surveys of cetacean distribution and assessments in light of sources of deleterious sound sources and risks of vessel strikes.
• d) Review and adapt existing national and insular legal frameworks to improve these, preferably by developing separate and standardized marine mammals legislation.
• e) Develop information systems to promote the development of a whale (cetacean) watching industry.
• f) Train and equip marine parks and island veterinarians to conduct elementary autopsies and collect basic stranding specimens for analysis of causes of mortality, contamination levels and genetics, and link them to international academic institutions who will accept and analyse the specimens in regional context.
• g) Develop species action plans (e.g. humpback).
• h) Conduct cetacean surveys and management reviews every 5 years to assess marine mammal status and conservation progress.

Abstract:

In December 2012 IMARES conducted workshops on the identification of whales & dolphins in the Caribbean on the islands of Sint Maarten, Saba and Sint Eustatius. Apart from giving the workshops, on-going cetacean projects, future monitoring needs and possibilities for extending monitoring projects were discussed together with the staff of the marine parks, government representatives and other local stakeholders, as well as with international research groups active in the Caribbean.

This report gives an overview of the occurrence of cetaceans in Saba, Sint Eustatius and Sint Maarten and describes the results of the cetacean identification workshops and the considerations with the local stakeholders. It also provides examples of existing on-going monitoring projects and an overview of research approaches that could be implemented on a local scale, or on a larger (national and international) scale in the future.

Management Recommendations:

Define monitoring need
There is a strong need to define what kind of monitoring is needed for both the near-shore areas (e.g. marine parks) and offshore areas (e.g. EEZ, trans-boundary regions). The best type of monitoring depends on the scale (Marine parks vs EEZ vs Wider Caribbean), the aims (e.g. long- term monitoring; estimation of abundance, biodiversity or distribution; risk assessment and conservation) and the available funding.

Coordinate and streamline current efforts
On a local scale cetacean monitoring has already started on the islands in different ways. The efforts range from the collection of any sightings made from land and water, to conducting effort related surveys in near shore waters. Some of these programs could be extended and coordinated between the islands. However, it is unlikely that the current staff would be able to do more than they are doing at the moment as they either need to have more staff or get long term assistance in the collection and analyses of the data.
A standardization of monitoring approaches between the different islands and the development and use of a common database would be helpful to allow the direct comparison of data. The new project idea to use handheld hydrophones on all three islands to monitor cetacean presence is a promising approach. However, close cooperation between local staff and IMARES and some long term funding is needed to ensure useful results will be obtained in the long run.

Extend monitoring efforts to a larger scale
Several people of the local staff of all three islands have been involved in the French AGOA surveys. This has provided them with more knowledge on cetaceans in the area, insights in data collection methodology and has also provided data for the Dutch Caribbean waters on the occurrence of cetaceans. The current protocols of the AGOA could be adapted and expanded to better fit the needs (to be defined) of monitoring cetaceans in Dutch Caribbean waters. A standard protocol for all areas could be a first step for a common database which could then be analysed on a regular basis. Following a similar survey protocol one could extend the AGOA survey in Dutch waters.
To obtain absolute abundance estimates of cetaceans in the EEZs of Saba and Sint Maarten, it is necessary to conduct designated surveys in the Dutch Caribbean waters using survey vessels or airplanes.

Risk assessment
In order to achieve an adequate conservation of the marine mammals in the Dutch Caribbean, information on species composition, distribution and abundance should be used for an assessment of the existing and potential threats to these cetaceans. 

This report is part of the Wageningen University BO research program (BO-11-011.05-005) and has been financed by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation (EZ) under project number 4308201083.