Key areas for beaked whales worldwide

Abstract

Beaked whales represent one of the groups of large mammals about which relatively little is still known. Many beaked whale species are known of from less than 50 records and one is known only from three partial skeletons. Beaked whales are subject to bycatch by fisheries, ingestion of plastics, accumulation of biocontaminants and adverse effects from anthropogenic noise. However, the inadequacy of knowledge about their biology means that developing effective conservation strategies can be difficult. We suggest that beaked whale conservation can best be achieved if, in consort with other approaches, key areas for beaked whales around the world can be identified. We suggest five criteria that can be used to identify key areas for beaked whales where, if human impacts were to occur, they would cause conservation concerns for beaked whales at a regional or global level. Using these criteria, 23 beaked whale key areas have been identified, based on existing knowledge contained in a database created from published and unpublished beaked whale records. In total, these 23 key areas covered the locations of almost 70% of all the beaked whale records in the database. However, for the identification of key areas to provide a useful tool for beaked whale conservation it is important not only that they are identified but that appropriate assessment and mitigation strategies are implemented within them to ensure that beaked whales are not adversely affected by human activities.