NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS
Blue Whale sighted off Oman
A blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) was sighted in Oman in late
November 1996, just four kilometres from Muscat’s rocky coast.
The only other record of a live blue whale in the Arabian region
is a sighting made in the late 1800’s in the very south of Oman
near the Al Halaaniyat Islands. The whale was one of just 5,000
blues estimated to remain in the Northern Hemisphere after populations
were severely depleted by whaling activity earlier this century.
Blue whale stocks in the Southern Hemisphere were similarly devastated
and the question still remains: will the species recover, or are
blue whales destined for extinction?
The fifty foot long blue whale passed by Oman’s capital city at
the same time as Muscat’s newly opened Marina was hosting an international
power boat racing championship. Members of Oman’s Whale and Dolphin
Rescue Team, concerned for the whale’s safety among power boats
and the usual fleets of fishing vessels, monitored the whale’s
progress along the coast, before it finally turned north and headed
out to sea.
Since the blue whale sighting, many other whales and dolphins
have been sighted near Muscat. Species observed just three to
four kilometres off the capital’s shores include the Bryde’s or
tropical whale (Balaenoptera edeni), the humpback whale (Megaptera
novaeangliae), the sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus), the false
killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens), Risso’s dolphins (Grampus
griseus), bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), spinner dolphins
(Stenella longirostris) and common dolphins (Delphinus delphis).
There has also been a sighting of two whales identified as either
melon-headed whales (Peponocephala electra) or pygmy killer whales
(Feresa attenuata). The two species are extremely difficult to
tell apart at sea. Neither species has been seen in Oman, or the
region, before.
As well as all the sightings, which is not particularly unusual
for Oman, a number of dead whales and dolphins were also found
during the same period. Sadly, this is also not particularly unusual
and neither is their cause of death, which is generally attributable
to fisheries activities. However, far greater attention is now
paid to Oman’s whales and dolphins and 1997 will see the official
launch of the Whale and Dolphin Society of Oman, a non-government
organisation dedicated to the conservation of cetaceans. The Society
will begin its activities with a series of educational and research
programmes, followed by community management programmes, and is
set to become one of the region’s leading environmental organisations.
International Year of the Coral Reef
1997 – International Year of the Coral Reef. A worldwide campaign
for coral reef conservation was launched in the New Year by the
International Coral Reef Initiative, US Department of State, Washington
DC. Declaration of 1997 as the Year of the Coral Reef came following
recently released figures that indicated over 10% of the world’s
coral reefs have been degraded beyond recovery and a further 20%
may be lost over the next fifteen years.
The value, both realised and potential, of coral reefs can be
viewed in economic terms, for example in supporting industries
such as fisheries and tourism and by physical protection of shorelines
against the forces of erosion, in scientific terms, such as the
value of reefs to research and education, and in intrinsic terms,
for example the value of reefs to biodiversity and as components
of marine ecosystems. All of these values apply to the coral reefs
of the Arabian region, which are extensive not only in the Red
Sea, but also in the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman and Arabian Gulf.
Like elsewhere in the world, many of these reefs are suffering
the effects of increased human activity. Impacts have been particularly
acute in this region due to rapid development over the past few
decades. In Saudi Arabia, the decision by the National Commission
for Wildlife Conservation and Development to protect coral reefs
at the Farasan Islands (see Arabian Wildlife 1996/1997 Vol.3,
No.1) is a positive contribution to coral reef conservation.
The Sultanate of Oman plans to initiate several programmes as
part of its contribution to the Year of the Coral Reef. These
will begin with the clearance of abandoned fishing nets and litter
from coral reefs in the capital area, particularly around the
newly decreed Dimaaniyat Islands National Nature Reserve. During
1997, Oman also hopes to begin implementation of a National Coral
Reef Management Plan, the result of extensive surveys, consultations
and workshops conducted throughout 1996.
Khor Kalba designated as a Nature Reserve
The successful designation of Khor Kalba in the United Arab Emirates
as a Nature Reserve (see Arabian Wildlife 1996/1997 Vol.3, No.1)
was largely the result of efforts by the Arabian Leopard Trust,
which conducted surveys of the area and produced a management
proposal for the protection of the khor.
In 1997, the Arabian Leopard Trust will be conducting similar
surveys in the valuable and fascinating coastal region of Umm
al Quwain on the Arabian Gulf shoreline of the UAE. Both underwater
and terrestrial environments will be surveyed and documented,
and a detailed management plan will be drawn up, proposing the
area for nature reserve status.
Sea Turtle Workshop
Northern Indian Ocean Sea Turtle Workshop and Strategic Planning
Session – Bhubaneswar, India
13-18 January 1997
The Marine Turtle Specialist Group of the IUCN Species Survival
Commission meets in Bhubaneswar in January to review information
on marine turtles in the Northern Indian Ocean and work out strategies
for conservation of the five species of turtles known in the region.
All of the five species are in danger of extinction, not only
here, but throughout their worldwide range.
The Arabian region is of great importance to marine turtles with
many of the world’s most important nesting beaches and feeding
grounds situated here. It is noteworthy that one of the sponsors
of the workshop in January is the Convention on Migratory Species
(CMS). Turtles migrate great distances and often cross international
borders whilst travelling between feeding and nesting grounds.
Perhaps the major challenge for turtle conservation is to ensure
international cooperation between countries harbouring nesting,
feeding and migrating populations. Two countries from the region
are attending this year’s workshop; Saudi Arabia and the Sultanate
of Oman.