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Exploitation
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Romero, A. & K. Hayford. 2001. Past and
present utilization of marine mammals in Grenada, W.I. Journal of
Cetacean Research and Management 2(3):223-226.
Abstract
The exploitation of marine mammals in Grenada
dates back to pre-Columbian times. Whaling ships visited Grenadian
waters in the 19th century and during the 1920s there was a
short-lived attempt to develop a local, industrial whaling industry.
Since then no exploitative interactions between Grenadians and marine
mammals have taken place until the 1990s when two whale watching
operations were established. Recent developments in Grenada and
neighboring islands raise concerns about the resumption of whaling in
those waters without proper ecological assessment of the feasibility for
such operations. Whale watching operations, including land-based
alternatives, are proposed.
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Species Composition
and Distribution
- Romero, A., K. T. Hayford, Andrea Romero & J.
Romero. The marine mammals of Grenada, W.I.,
and their conservation status.
Mammalia
66(4):479-494.
Abstract
To document the Grenadian marine
mammal fauna and its distribution in the eastern Caribbean, we conducted
field and archival studies in that country. All records of sirenians
and cetaceans for Grenada were assembled and analyzed. The total number
of marine mammal species for this part of the world was 11. The
humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) was the most commonly
reported mysticete species while a variety of odontocetes seem to be
equally frequent in those waters. The manatee (Trichechus manatus)
has been extinct from those waters for at least 300 years. Comparison
with the marine mammal fauna of adjacent regions (Venezuela, Trinidad,
and St. Vincent and the Grenadines), leads us to believe that at least
seven additional species of cetaceans may be present in Grenadian
waters, probably as occasional visitors. |
