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First mass stranding of Risso's dolphins (Grampus griseus) in Peru and its destiny as food and bait

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 January 2010

Ignacio García-Godos*
Affiliation:
Unidad de Básica de Investigaciones en Depredadores Superiores, Instituto del Mar del Perú (IMARPE)
Carolina Cardich
Affiliation:
Unidad de Básica de Investigaciones en Depredadores Superiores, Instituto del Mar del Perú (IMARPE)
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: I. García-Godos, Avenida F.J. Mariátegui 129–403, Lima 11, Peru email: ag_godos@yahoo.com
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Abstract

The first mass stranding of Risso's dolphins Grampus griseus on the Peruvian coast occurred on Pozo de Lizas Beach (17°42′30.3″S 71°18′48.7″W), port of Ilo, Department of Moquegua, southern Peru, between 7 and 8 June 2007. At least 14 Risso's dolphins were stranded along 1.5 km of beach. Just 7 of them could be sized and 8 sexed; this group was composed of 7 males and a single female plus a juvenile of undetermined sex. Mean standard body length of the males was 299.67 cm (SD: 9.91 cm, range: 292–317 cm) and the female measured 289 cm. The entire group, including four individuals found alive, was illegally butchered by the local people to use the meat as food, while other remains were used as bait in the pelagic long-line fishery. This record fills a distributional gap of about 1000 km in the known distribution of the species between central Peru and northern Chile. Additional education is required for improved conservation strategies in future cetacean strandings.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2010

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References

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