6 Endangered Dolphins and Porpoise
22 More Species May Also Be Endangered But Data is Lacking
6 species of dolphins and porpoises are on the endangered list, but 22 others might be if enough was known about them. So what happens when the data just isn't there?
A look at the IUCN Red-List of Threatened Species finds 2 types of dolphins and porpoises to be Critically Endangered, 2 more listed as Endangered, and a further 2 as Vulnerable. But there are another 22 species found on that list under the category of Data Deficient. Many of them are likely to be endangered, if not critically so, however information about their actual numbers and the threats they face is lacking so it is not possible to give them a specific listing.
The Endangered List
The dolphins and porpoises who have made the endangered list include the Baiji (which may already be extinct in the wild), the Vaquita, theSusu, Hector’s and Amazon River dolphins and the harbor porpoise.
The Waiting List
The other 22 species have been proposed to the IUCN for listing but there isn’t enough information to determine their status. Many, including the Irrawaddy river dolphin, Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin, Tucuxi and Francescana are coastal species which makes them vulnerable to entanglement as by-catch in nets set near mouths of rivers and to habitat destruction or pollution as humans populations increase in those areas. But open ocean animals, such as the spotted and spinner dolphins can also be by-catch victims, in this case most often in the tuna fishery. Declining fish populations, the most common food sources for dolphins and porpoises, affect these open water species as well.
So why aren’t the 22 other dolphins and porpoises listed as endangered?
The IUCN has set basic criteria for those listings. This was done to standardize the information worldwide. Without the required information, a species can only be listed as Data Deficient under this system. The listing does give all the information that is available on the species. It is then up to researchers to come up with the rest of the missing pieces to get them on the list. And someone has to come up with funding to do this.
Help from other quarters
But all is not lost. Some species may be labelled endangered by individual government authorities such as the USFWS which administers the Endangered Species Act. And some subspecies, such as the Yangtze finless porpoise, which have been surveyed have been listed as endangered. Habitat protection, including alterations to fishery practices can do as much to save dolphins and porpoises as listing the individual species would. The original concept behind listing species was to find ways to protect critical environments. And focusing on habitat protection usually results in protection of less charismatic species, often ones that are critical to the survival of the entire ecosystem.
