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Cetaceans of the Moroccan coast: information from a reconstructed strandings database

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 October 2015

Hicham Masski Open the ORCID record for Hicham Masski [Opens in a new window]  and
Renaud De Stéphanis
Hicham Masski*
Affiliation:
Institut National de Recherche Halieutique, Bd. Sidi Abderrahmane, 20 000 Casablanca, Morocco OKEANOS, Nature Preservation and Research, 43 Bd. d'Alsace, Casablanca, Morocco
Renaud De Stéphanis
Affiliation:
GEMA, Grupo de Ecología Marina Aplicada, Estación Biológica de Doñana, CSIC. C/Americo Vespucio, s/n, 41092, Isla de la Cartuja, Sevilla, Spain CIRCE, Conservation, Information and Research on Cetaceans, Cabeza de Manzaneda 3, Pelayo, Algeciras, Spain
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: H. Masski Institut National de Recherche Halieutique, Bd. Sidi Abderrahmane, 20 000 Casablanca, Morocco email: hmasski@gmail.com
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Abstract

Cetaceans of Morocco have been poorly studied to date, and only sporadic information comes from scientific cruises for this group. In an attempt to learn more on the occurrence, distribution and relative abundances of cetaceans in Morocco, a stranding database was reconstructed from various sources (stranding reports from state agencies and newspaper clippings). This inventory documented 205 cases of stranding between 1980 and 2009. Most of the strandings and most confirmed cases of interactions with human activity (fishing, for dolphins; collisions, for whales) were reported in the Strait of Gibraltar and adjacent areas from the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. Sixteen species were identified from the stranding database, of which seven species were the most abundant. These were striped dolphins, common dolphins, bottlenose dolphins, fin whales, sei whales, sperm whales and long-finned pilot whales. The fin and sei whales were present throughout the year and stranding of common and striped dolphins were minimal between September and December. The fin, sei and sperm whales seem to be present in Moroccan waters at birth and at different stages of their life cycle. Establishing an observation network of sufficient and sustainable density in Morocco is the most likely way to collect robust data for the calculation of credible population indicators for cetaceans. Monitoring will certainly improve through better collaboration among Moroccan institutions and a greater awareness in Moroccan civil society of environmental issues.

Keywords

CetaceaninventorydistributionstrandingMoroccoCanary Current
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 98 , Special Issue 5: Marine Mammals , August 2018 , pp. 1029 - 1037
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2015 

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