Marine Resources Assessment for the Marianas Operating ... - SPREP

AUGUST 2005 FINAL REPORT
Davis (1978) recounted the stranding of an unidentified baleen whale at Agaga Beach, Guam in
August 1978. Agaga Beach is located in southwestern Guam between Facpi Point and Umatac. Two
Umatac fishermen discovered the beached whale.
In 1995, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) developed a project to develop a global
plan of action to protect the marine environment (which includes marine mammals) from land-based
activities. In conjunction with this plan, regional studies are carried out to investigate the status of
marine mammals. The Pacific Regional Environment Programme, formerly known as the South
Pacific Regional Environment Program (SPREP), serves the region of Guam and the CNMI. Eldredge
(1989) provided the first compilation of published and unpublished records for marine mammals
occurring in Micronesia. Information on 18 species of marine mammals was documented in this report
and made more publicly available as a peer-reviewed publication by Eldredge (1991). Donaldson
(1983), Kami and Hosmer (1982), Kami and Lujan (1976), Trianni and Kessler (2002), and
Eldredge (2003) have published additional records.
In 1949, Japanese agencies involved in the management of whaling began a research program of
whale marking (or tagging) in the North Pacific Ocean (Omura and Kawakami 1956; Ohsumi and
Masaki 1975). Many thousands of whales from several different species were marked. Marks were
shot into whales’ bodies from a shotgun and were recovered when the whales were killed and cut-up
or flensed. The data on the marks were then used to obtain information on the movements of the
animals (Omura and Kawakami 1956). Until 1972, the number of whales marked in low-latitude areas
was very small (Ohsumi and Masaki 1975).
Masaki (1972) described a comprehensive marking program for whales in the waters surrounding the
Ogasawara and Mariana Islands, which lasted a span of 32 days from 16 January to 16 February
1972. During this period, 19 of 50 sperm whales and all of 36 “sei whales” sighted north of the
Mariana Islands (20° to 25°N) were marked. In the area immediately surrounding the Mariana Islands
(10° to 20°N), 13 “sei whales” were sighted and 8 were tagged. South of the Mariana Islands (5° to
10°N), two Bryde’s whales were sighted and both were marked.
Miyazaki and Wada (1978) presented a synthesis of biological data collected during a whale sighting
and marking cruise in the western tropical Pacific Ocean from 20 January to 19 March 1976. The
tracklines for this cruise, which began in Japan and went as far south as the Solomon Islands (east of
Papua New Guinea), passed along both sides of the Marianas archipelago. Geographic coordinates,
dates, and species identifications for each cetacean sighting/marking were provided in the report.
Schulz (1980) chronicled the stranding of a pilot whale on a reef at Ipan, Guam on 6 July 1980. A
Guam resident saw the whale struggling in the shallow waters over the reef and attempted to push it
off the reef. However, the man was unsuccessful and later shot the whale to put it out of its misery.
Also mentioned in this newspaper article were hypotheses as to why pilot whales most often strand.
Taitano (1991) reported on the sighting of a group of three unidentified whales outside the reef at
Alupang Cove, Guam on 12 February 1991. The whales, which were believed to be either pilot or
humpback whales, were first observed by a group of children and were later seen up close by a pair
of charter boat captains and a beach club manager.
Wilson et al. (1987) is a summary of worldwide occurrence records for striped dolphins. The data
sets presented are currently housed at the NMFS-Southwest Fisheries Science Center (SWFSC) in
La Jolla, California. Included in this report are a few sighting records from the waters around Guam
and the CNMI.
Worth (2003) described the recent stranding of a pilot whale on Guam in August 2003. The individual
washed ashore at Inarajan and was later dragged offshore (by boat) by technicians from the Guam
Division of Aquatic and Wildlife Resources (DAWR). Within the article, the director of the Guam
DAWR stated that pilot whales commonly beach themselves because they are injured by boats.