The Dominican Republic: New Whale Sanctuary for the Caribbean
Endangered whales such as the humpback which transit the Caribbean are now assured of a safe haven.
The Caribbean Environment Program (CEP) is optimistic that endangered humpback whales in the Wider Caribbean will be better protected under a new agreement signed by the Dominican Republic’s Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources and the United States’ National Marine Sanctuary Program.
The agreement established the world’s first sister sanctuary linkage protecting an endangered migratory marine mammal species on both ends of its range.
“Both countries are Parties to SPAW (Protocol concerning Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife) and with these type of initiatives manifest the true spirit of regional cooperation ... to ensure the conservation of (whales and other) migratory endangered species,” said Alessandra Vanzella-Khouri, SPAW Program Officer, located at the CEP headquarters in Kingston, Jamaica.
The two sister sanctuaries, some 1,500 miles apart, provide critical support for the same humpback whale population of around 900 whales. These whales spend spring and summer in the rich feeding grounds of Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary (SBNMS) off the coast of Massachusetts before heading to the warmer waters of the Santuario de Mamíferos Marinos de la República Dominicana (SMMRD) in late fall to mate and have their young.
The SMMRD and the SBNMS have agreed to enhance coordination in management efforts between the two sanctuaries and help improve humpback whale recovery in the North Atlantic. The sister sanctuary agreement goes into effect immediately and establishes the cooperation guidelines for the next five years.
As sister sanctuaries, the two sites will explore new avenues for collaborative management efforts, including joint research, monitoring, education and capacity building programs.
This announcement gains renewed interest with the recent conclusion of the 59th Annual International Whale Commission meeting in Anchorage, Alaska which concluded with continued division between nations in favor of whaling and those for conservation of whales.
While the IWC agreed on quotas for aboriginal subsistence whaling for places like Alaska, Greenland and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, resumption of commercial whaling, of any type, did not receive majority support. Furthermore, the current whaling for scientific purposes by countries like Japan received criticism from many countries.
