Red List of South African Species

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Least Concern (LC)
Assessors: Stephanie Plön
Contributors: Fiona Preston-Whyte Claire Relton Shanan Atkins Ken Findlay Mike Meyer Herman Oosthuizen Simon Elwen
Reviewers: Matthew Child

Rationale

Although there are no abundance estimates for Southern Right Whale Dolphins. The very low sighting rate is probably due to a lack of sampling effort. It is suspected that the population is robust and there is no reason to believe there is any decline. The offshore distribution of this species suggests no major threats. Thus, this species is listed as Least Concern within the assessment region. However, the possible disturbing effect of seismic activity is a minor threat. This species may require re-assessment if new data emerge, but it is not currently a conservation priority.

Regional population effects: Southern Right Whale Dolphins are widely distributed across the temperate regions of the southern hemisphere, and although their movement patterns are largely undocumented, no barriers to dispersal have been recognised, thus rescue effects are possible.

Distribution

Southern Right Whale Dolphins have a circumpolar distribution across the southern hemisphere, restricted to regions north of the Antarctic Convergence (Rose & Payne 1991) and south of the Subtropical Convergence (Skinner & Chimimba 2005). There are, however, infrequent records of this species extending beyond these limits, for example 58–61°S (Jefferson et al. 1994) and to 12.5°S off the coast of Peru (Van Waerebeek et al. 1991). Strandings have been documented in southern Argentina (Goodall 1978), New Zealand and Australia (Baker 1981).

Presumably this species follows cold-water currents, such as the Benguela and Humbodt (Watson 1985). In southern Africa, this species is known from the west coast, ranging northwards as far as about 23°S, due to the cold counter clockwise Benguela Current; occurring primarily in the region of upwelling off Lüderitz (Rose & Payne 1991). There is just one confirmed record of Southern Right Whale Dolphins off South Africa’s coast, just south of the Orange River (Rose & Payne 1991), though there are at least two skulls from the 19th century which are thought to have been collected from South African beaches (Cruickshank & Brown 1981). This species has also been documented in the waters around Marion Island (Cruickshank & Brown 1981). They are predominantly found offshore and there are no documented inshore sightings off Namibia, however rare inshore sightings from Chile have been recorded (Aguayo 1975). Since this species tends to be localised off Lüderitz (Namibia), it is suspected that this group may infrequently extend marginally into South Africa (Rose & Payne 1991). Thus, sightings are expected to occur further south in the Benguela Current but the lack thereof is likely to be due to a paucity of sampling effort.

Population trend

Trend

No global estimates or trends are available for Southern Right Whale Dolphins, and generally, this species seems  to avoid contact with oceanic vessels, and their fast swimming behaviour renders them difficult to spot at sea (Rose & Payne 1991). This species is known from only one confirmed record off South Africa’s northwestern coast, as well as around Marion Island, and there are no population estimates for the assessment region. In general, this species is considered to have a robust population and to be fairly common within its range (Jefferson et al. 1994; Lipsky et al. 2002). Additionally, Rose and Payne (1991) suggest that they may be considerably more common in southern African waters than previously believed (Rose & Payne 1991). However, this is only likely to be the case for Namibia, as they are thought to extend only marginally into the waters off South Africa’s west coast, thus they are not considered abundant within the waters off northwestern South Africa (Branch et al. 2007). Taylor et al. (2007) estimated a generation period of 18.3 years for this species.

Threats

Seismic activity, for oil and gas, might be a minor threat, due to possible disturbance of Southern Right Whale Dolphins. They have been directly taken in gillnets elsewhere in the world but there is no evidence that it occurs in South African waters. Considering the squid based diet of the Southern Right Whale Dolphin and its distribution in pelagic waters off the west coast of southern Africa, there may be some threat of competition for forage resources with pelagic trawl fisheries.

The impact of global climate change, and the associated effects of increased water temperature and CO2 concentration, on Southern Right Whale Dolphins is largely unknown, however, is likely to have cascading effects on the movements and feeding ecology of these species (Learmonth et al. 2006).

Uses and trade

There is no trade or use of this species in the assessment region.

Conservation

Southern Right Whale Dolphins are listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and are protected by the Marine Living Resources Act (No. 18 of 1998) of the national legislation. Although, no specific  conservation measures have been identified for this species, it would benefit from continued research into their population dynamics and distribution patterns. Additionally, the impacts of direct threats, such as noise pollution and bycatch in pelagic fisheries, as well as the indirect effects of climate change and competition on food resources should be investigated. 

Recommendations for managers and practitioners:
  • Sightings, strandings and bycatch data should be recorded, especially during ship-based surveys aimed at other cetacean species, as well as commercial fisheries and marine tour operators.
Research priorities:
  • Data pertaining to the species’ distribution patterns and the severity of potential threats that could affect the listing of this species.
  • Estimates of population size and trends, as well as the distribution of this species within the assessment region are urgently needed.
Encouraged citizen actions:
  • Use information dispensed by the South African Sustainable Seafood Initiative (SASSI) to make good choices when buying fish in shops and restaurants, e.g. wwfsa.mobi, FishMS 0794998795.
  • Save electricity and fuel to mitigate CO2 emissions and hence, the rate of climate change.
  • Buy local products that have not been shipped.
  • Report sightings on virtual museum platforms (for example, iSpot and MammalMAP) to help with mapping geographical distribution.
  • Avoid using plastic bags.
  

References 

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,]
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