Title
A Nationwide Survey of Cetaceans in Tanzania
Author(s)
Braulik, Gill T.; Kasuga, Magreth; Wittich, Anja; Said, Said Shaib; Macaulay, Jamie; Gordon, Jonathan; Gillespie, Douglas
Published
2016
Abstract
Cetaceans are important and charismatic components of ocean biodiversity, however many populations and species are undergoing substantial declines. In many parts of the world cetaceans remain very poorly known, and this is a major challenge to effective conservation and to informed management. This is the case in Tanzania, where although there have been extensive cetacean studies conducted on Unguja, and ad recording of humpback whales by volunteers, there is very little information on cetaceans from the rest of the country, including the 800km coast and the islands of Mafia and Pemba. The lack of basic information on cetaceans presents a challenge to those tasked with protecting the marine environment or identifying and managing the impact of new developments. Here we report on a national cetacean assessment, the objective of which was to provide broad-scale baseline information on cetacean species occurrence, distribution and abundance for the entire coast of Tanzania.
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