Status of small cetacean populations in the Black Sea: review of current information and suggestions for future research

Three species of small cetaceans in the Black Sea were harvested from 1870-1983: common dolphin Delphinus delphis, harbour porpoise or Azov dolphin Phocoena phocoena and bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus. The fisheries in the four bordering countries were halted because of greatly reduced catches, indicating a collapse of the dolphin stocks. Available statistics on the harvest and estimates of population size are summarised, and new information on recent by-catches and abundance are described. A review of recent abundance estimates reveals them to be of low reliability and unsuitable for management purposes. -from Authors