Community focused research on the Critically Endangered Yangtze Finless Porpoise

 

A large-scale interview survey of fishing communities in geographic “hotspots” of the Critically Endangered Yangtze finless porpoise (Neophocaena asiaeorientalis asiaeorientalis) was conducted in 2011-2012 along the main Yangtze channel and around Dongting and Poyang Lakes by the Zoological Society of London and the Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. This project which was led by CSG members Samuel Turvey and Wang Ding investigated regional levels, impacts, and socio-economic drivers of potentially harmful fishing activities, together with local attitudes and awareness about regional legislation, in order to provide a more robust baseline to identify appropriate mitigation strategies for porpoise conservation in the Yangtze drainage. Fishing communities within porpoise hotspots have relatively little awareness of key fisheries or porpoise conservation legislation, and changes to legislation are also recommended. Fishers across porpoise hotspots have cumulative annual earnings from fishing of over CNY 150 million and little experience of alternative livelihoods, considerations which must be taken into account when making decisions concerning potential regulation of regional fishing activities for porpoise conservation. The report from this work can be viewed here.