Environmental History of Marine Mammal Exploitation in Trinidad and Tobago, W.I., and its Ecological Impact

Abstract

Marine mammal exploitation has been documented for the Caribbean in recent times for only a handful of countries. Based on those studies a complex image of how that exploitation has taken place has begun to emerge. In order to fully understand whaling, dolphin fisheries, and manatee hunting, we still need to ascertain patterns of exploitation for many of the island-nations in that part of the world. We present a comprehensive analysis of marine mammal utilisation for Trinidad and Tobago. Trinidad and Tobago has been characterised by landbased whaling, organised during most of the nineteenth century by local elites. Dolphin fisheries have been rare and restricted to by-catches. Trinidad has the last remaining population of manatees among the eastern Caribbean islands, which is composed of a small number of individuals confined to a small swamp.ALDEMARO ROMERO ET AL. 256We compared the history, patterns, and results of this exploitation in Trinidad and Tobago with other neighbouring nations (Venezuela, Grenada, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines). As in other countries in the area that practised intense whaling, local populations of humpback whales have become virtually extinct in their waters. Culture, more than anything else, seems to be the force shaping the nature of marine mammal exploitation in the Caribbean, which has resulted in different histories and methods of exploitation for each one of the countries studied.

Yankee Whaling in the Caribbean Basin: Its Impact in a Historical Context

“…Yet, by the time Yankee whalers initiated a significant activity in the Caribbean Basin, two localities -both under British sovereignty at that time: Bermuda and Trinidad and Tobago has already developed a local shore whaling industry: Bermuda in 1663 (Romero 2006) and Trinidad in the 1820's (Romero et al, 2002). This contradicts the generalization made by Caldwell & Caldwell (1971) that Yankee whalers directly influenced shore whaling in the Caribbean.…”

“…Activities by Yankee whaling ships for Trinidad and Tobago have been summarized elsewhere (Romero et al 2002). All indications are that there was never much interaction between Yankee and land-based whalers.…”

“…Native Americans exploited cetaceans and other marine mammals in the Caribbean Basin since before the arrival of the Europeans (Acosta 1590, Romero et al 1997, Romero and Hayford 2000, Romero et al 2002. The first whaling operations in this area, as defined earlier by Europeans or people of European descent, were in Bermuda.…”

Deplete Locally, Impact Globally: Environmental History of Shore- Whaling in Barbados, W.I.~!2009-07-26~!2010-01-01~!2010-04-06~!

“…Despite archaeological evidence from numerous sites in the Caribbean, showing that Amerindians utilized all marine mammal resources at their disposal (e.g., [9,[12][13][14]25]), there is only one pre-Columbian site in Barbados with associated marine mammal remains. They are a sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) and unidentified dolphins [26,27].…”

“…In order for informed decisions to be made about whether to increase the intensity of whaling, there is a need for comprehensive, upto-date information on marine mammals in the Caribbean, specifically about the history of their exploitation in each country. Studies similar to this one have shown that past exploitation practices have directly impacted the population status of various species (e.g., [9,[12][13][14][15]). …”