A recent analysis of the implementation of the 2008 Action Plan for the Conservation of marine mammals in the Wider Caribbean (SPAW RAC, 2020) provides an up date of the threats considered significant in the region: interaction between marine mammals and fisheries, pollution, coastal habitat degradation, acoustic disturbance, whale watching, vessel strikes and climate change.

By-catch in fishing nets, that is currently identified as the main threat to delphinids all over the world, also appears to be a significant threats in the region. Large whale entanglements in Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) and in ghost fishing gears have also been documented in the region, but this threat needs to be quantified.
Regarding whaling, several hundreds of delphinids are caught every year for meat consumption. Main targeted species are: pilote whales, false killer whales, killer whales, and some small delphinid species, in particular spinner dolphins, pantropical and Atlantic spotted dolphins, Fraser’s dolphin, and rough-toothed dolphins in the Caribbean islands, as well as coastal species in continental waters, such as bottlenose dolphins, sotalia and tucuxi. Some whales are also caught each year, especially humpback whales.
Several animals are also caught for captive facilities. Indeed, there are curently 33 marine mammal captive facilities within the region and proposals for the establishment of new ones continue to occur.

The two most important known sources of pollution that may impact marine mammals are: land-based (agriculture, mining, waste water…) as well as oil and gas offshore activities. For example, excessive nutrient loads contribute to toxic algal blooms that were shown to correlate with acute mortality events among manatee and coastal delphinids in Florida. As for heavy metal, artisanal gold mining and coal-fired power plants are major sources of mercury pollution of the marine environment, and high levels of mercury concentration have been found in several species of cetaceans taken off St. Vincent. A series of oil spills have occurred in the region since 2010 and high levels of dissolved petroleum hydrocarbons have been found throughout the Caribbean Sea. The impact of these pollutions on marine mammal health has been poorly studied yet, except for major events such as the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico, that has contributed to the largest and longest marine mammal unusual mortality event ever recorded in the Gulf of Mexico.

Whale watching ©Fisseau

Watching marine mammals in the wild is an incredible experience and an interesting way of development for Caribbean territories. However, whale watching disturbs wild animals and can lead to significant impacts when it is too frequent or intense: in some regions of the world, whale watching has contributed to reproduction decline and displacement of some dolphin populations. In order to limit the activity impact on marine mammals, several countries have regulated the activities through voluntary guidelines, certifications or permits.


There is ongoing and increasing concern regarding the potential effects on marine mammals of underwater noise produced during geophysical seismic surveys, military (naval) training exercises, and vessel traffic. Indeed, stranding events and behavioral responses by cetaceans to anthropogenic sources of underwater noise have been documented in the Region. This threat is of particular concern for deep divers such as beaked whales and sperm whales.
Collisions between vessels and large cetaceans occur wherever there is heavy traffic and high concentrations of animals. They are now a threat to several whale populations around the world, but their impact on Caribbean marine mammal populations has not been quantified yet.
Climate change is expected to exacerbate existing threats to marine mammals such as through habitat loss, disease, pollution, and interactions with human activities. This is particularly true in the WCR, where the health and productivity of coral reef and mangrove ecosystems, which impact food availability for marine mammals, are highly correlated with sea surface temperature.


Another major output of the Marine mammal Action plan implementation assessment was that there is a global lack of information on marine mammals (abundance, distribution….) and human activity to allow for the quantification of their impacts of these species. Enhancement of knowledge should then be a priority for the coming years.


You want to learn more on marine mammals conservation and protection status in the region, click here.