Although deforestation and forest degradation have long been considered the most significant threats to tropical biodiversity, across Southeast Asia (Northeast India, Indochina, Sundaland, Philippines) substantial areas of natural habitat have few wild animals (>1 kg), bar a few hunting-tolerant species. To document hunting impacts on vertebrate populations regionally, we conducted an extensive literature review, including papers in local journals and reports of governmental and nongovernmental agencies. Evidence from multiple sites indicated animal populations declined precipitously across the region since approximately 1980, and many species are now extirpated from substantial portions of their former ranges. Hunting is by far the greatest immediate threat to the survival of most of the region's endangered vertebrates. Causes of recent overhunting include improved access to forests and markets, improved hunting technology, and escalating demand for wild meat, wildlife-derived medicinal products, and wild animals as pets. Although hunters often take common species, such as pigs or rats, for their own consumption, they take rarer species opportunistically and sell surplus meat and commercially valuable products. There is also widespread targeted hunting of high-value species. Consequently, as currently practiced, hunting cannot be considered sustainable anywhere in the region, and in most places enforcement of protected-area and protected-species legislation is weak. The international community's focus on cross-border trade fails to address overexploitation of wildlife because hunting and the sale of wild meat is largely a local issue and most of the harvest is consumed in villages, rural towns, and nearby cities. In addition to improved enforcement, efforts to engage hunters and manage wildlife populations through sustainable hunting practices are urgently needed. Unless there is a step change in efforts to reduce wildlife exploitation to sustainable levels, the region will likely lose most of its iconic species, and many others besides, within the next few years.
Fisheries bycatch is a primary driver of cetacean declines, especially for threatened freshwater cetaceans. However, information on the factors influencing cetacean susceptibility to bycatch in small‐scale fisheries is limited, impeding development of evidence‐based conservation strategies. We conducted 663 interviews with fishers from southern Bangladesh to investigate the influence of net and set characteristics on seasonal bycatch rates of Ganges River dolphins Platanista gangetica gangetica and assess the sustainability of annual mortality levels. Between October 2010–October 2011, 170 bycatch events (and a minimum of 14 mortalities) were reported, 89% of which occurred in gillnets. The probability of bycatch increased as water depth declined, and as net mesh size increased. While the number of recorded bycatch incidents was higher in gillnets, risk of mortality was greater in set bagnets. Our mortality estimate indicates that fisheries‐related bycatch currently exceeds the sustainable limit recommended by the International Whaling Commission by 3.5 times. Numerous regulations have been developed to improve the productivity of commercially important fisheries, and if regulations were effectively enforced, these may also reduce river dolphin bycatch.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.