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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 229 / Thursday, December 2, 2021 / Proposed Rules
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Indian Ocean humpback dolphin S.
plumbea Collins 2015, Collins et al.
2017. Births are thought to occur in March and April, based upon observations of juveniles Van Waerebeek et al. 2004, Collins 2015.
The species is suspected to be sexually dimorphic males larger at maturity and with a more prominent dorsal hump, but the current sample size 20
individuals is too small to assess this statistically Jefferson and Rosenbaum 2014.
Abundance and Population Trends Abundance data are very limited for S. teuszii and robust abundance estimates are lacking for most stocks.
However, approximate, general estimates have been made for the 11
recognized stocks which are subjective and based on the knowledge of a limited number of researchers and range from the tens to low hundreds of individuals per stock Collins 2015, Collins et al.
2017.
Comprehensive reviews conducted by Collins 2015 and Collins et al. 2017
on all available S. teuszii population biology data, reinforce general inferences of small total population size.
These reviews concluded that the species probably includes fewer than 3,000 individuals Collins 2015, Collins et al. 2017. If it is assumed that 50
percent of these are mature individuals, then the number of mature individuals in the total population would be no more than 1,500 Collins et al. 2017, Brownell et al. 2019.
Because robust abundance estimates for this species are lacking, there are no quantitative assessments of population trends and status. However, the evidence of recent work in some areas and a consensus of expert opinions indicate that most stocks of S. teuszii are small and that all stocks have experienced significant declines in recent decades Collins 2015, Collins et al. 2017. Limited research effort for each putative S. teuszii stock has either identified significant mortality or yielded strong evidence to infer it Van Waerebeek et al. 2004, Collins 2015, Collins et al. 2017. According to Collins 2015 and Collins et al. 2017, artisanal fishing bycatch and directed takes are the principal causes of these declines, although these authors also suggest that habitat loss is likely a contributing factor as well. Reported dolphin bycatch has been coupled with observed or suspected declines of S.
teuszii in Guinea-Bissau, which together with neighboring Guinea, is believed to host the largest population of the species Collins 2015, Collins et al.
2017.

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In summary, while data on abundance and population trends are largely absent, the information presented in the petition indicates that the species consists of small, fragmented stocks, and may be declining across its range.
Analysis of ESA Section 4a1 Factors The petition asserts that S. teuszii is threatened by four of the five ESA
section 4a1 factors: The present destruction or modification of its habitat due to pollution and development, overutilization for commercial purposes via fisheries bycatch, inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms, and manmade factors affecting its continued existence, including fisheries bycatch and prey depletion, deliberate capture, coastal development, and anthropogenic noise. Information in the petition and readily available in our files indicates that the primary threat facing the species is fisheries bycatch. Therefore, we focus our discussion below on the evidence of this particular threat.
However, we note that in the status review for this species, we will evaluate all ESA section 4a1 factors to determine whether any one or a combination of these factors are causing declines in the species or are likely to substantially negatively affect the species within the foreseeable future to such a point that the Atlantic humpback dolphin is at risk of extinction or likely to become so in the foreseeable future.
Overutilization for Commercial, Recreational, Scientific, or Educational Purposes According to information cited in the petition and readily available in our files, the greatest threat to the Atlantic humpback dolphin is fisheries bycatch.
Bycatch of Atlantic humpback dolphins in artisanal gillnets is considered widespread throughout the species range Collins 2015, Collins et al. 2017, Jefferson 2019. This threat has been identified or suspected throughout much of the species range and for as long as the species has been studied Van Waerebeek et al. 2004, Collins 2015, Collins et al. 2017, Brownell et al.
2019, Jefferson 2019.
Work in Conkouati Douli National Park Republic of the Congo provides some indication of the potential scale of S. teuszii bycatch and substantial bycatch risk for the species Collins 2015. An intensive monitoring, enforcement, and cooperative incentivized reporting program identified 19 dolphins that were caught as bycatch over 5 years across all artisanal landing sites n = 14 along a 60-km stretch of protected beach Collins 2015. Out of the 19 dolphins
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caught as bycatch, 10 were identified as S. teuszii, and the testimony of fishermen showed that all were caught in gillnets less than 1 kilometer from shore Collins 2015, Collins et al. 2017.
While mortality figures have been reported for other areas including Banc dArguin and the Saloum Delta, the monitoring of bycatch in these aforementioned areas is either nonexistent or limited to very few landing sites Van Waerebeek et al. 2004, Collins 2015, Collins et al. 2017. Thus, the reported bycatch figures are likely to be underestimates of the true level of mortality.
Although there is no evidence of any organized, directed fisheries for S.
teuszii, there is a concern that bycatch can develop into directed entanglement or non-target-deliberate acquisition, where fishermen may intentionally try to catch Atlantic humpback dolphins in gillnets originally intended for other species especially if there is a market for such catches Clapham and Van Waerebeek 2007, Collins 2015. While the scale of this practice is unknown, the use of cetaceans for human consumption has been documented in West Africa which provides a potential market for cetacean products and reflects general fisheries declines Van Waerebeek et al. 2004, Clapham and Van Waerebeek 2007, Collins 2015, Jefferson 2019. Clapham and Van Waerebeek 2007 noted that market surveys conducted in West African coastal nations indicated that the sale and consumption of cetacean and sea turtle products is common.
Additionally, these sales contribute to the economic viability of gillnet fisheries in Ghana, which includes killing of live entangled animals, and using dolphin meat as bait Van Waerebeek et al. 2004, Clapham and Van Waerebeek 2007, Collins 2015.
However, it is important to note that because captures may be concealed, given legal prohibitions, acquiring reliable data from surveys remains a challenge in some areas Van Waerebeek et al. 2004, Collins 2015, Collins et al.
2017.
The extensive spread of migrant fishermen across western Africa over the past few decades is a related concern, which can augment existing fisheries bycatch issues in areas or even bring these issues to areas where they did not previously exist Collins 2015, Collins et al. 2017. Migrant fishermen including those who move within countries may not abide by local regulations, injunctions, taboos, or laws, and are often better equipped and more aggressive in their exploitation of local resources Collins 2015. They have
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