THE RAFFLES BULLETIN OF ZOOLOGY 2002 Supplement No.

10: 155-160
© National University of Singapore

PRELIMINARY REPORT ON A SMALL ESTUARINE POPULATION OF IRRAWADDY

DOLPHINS ORCAELLA BREVIROSTRIS IN THE PHILIPPINES

Ma. Louella L. Dolar

Tropical Marine Research, 6363 Lakewood Street, San Diego, CA 92122, USA. Email: dolarperri@[Link]

William F. Perrin
Southwest Fisheries Science Center, 8604 La folla Shozes Drive, La folla, CA 92037, USA

Joe Pres Gaudiano

Marine Laboratory, Silliman University, Dumaguete City 6200, Philippines

Arnel Andrew S. P. Yaptinchay

Kabang Kalikasang Pilipinas (WWF-Philippines), No. 23-A Maalindog Street, u.P. Village, Diliman, Quezon City 1101, Philippines

Jose Ma. Lorenzo Tan

Bookmark, Inc., 264 Vito Cruz Extension, 1256 Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines

ABSTRACT. - During a survey in 1999 covering the coastal waters of the northwestern Sulu Sea and
Malampaya Sound, Palawan, we sighted several groups of Irrawaddy dolphins (Orcaella brevirostris).
Distribution was restricted to very shallow waters (::;; 15 m) of the inner part of Malampaya Sound. No
Irrawaddy dolphin sightings were made in the Sulu Sea. No directed fisheries exist for the dolphin, but
some incidental mortality occurs in fishing gear such as bottom-set gillnets, fish corrals, liftnets and crab
traps. The habitat is endangered by encroaching fisheries, terrestrial development and increasing human
population around the sound.

KEY WORDS. - Irrawaddy dolphin, marine mammal, Orcaella brevirostris, Malampaya Sound, Palawan,
distribution, Philippines

INTRODUCTION present report summarizes the 1998 sightings and results

relating to O. brevirostris from a 1999 survey of cetaceans
There has been no published information on Irrawaddy and fishery interactions in the northeastern Sulu Sea and
dolphins (Orcaella brevirostris) in Philippine waters. In the Malampaya Sound (Dolar, 1999).
most recent review of the species by Stacey & Arnold (1999)
this species was not recorded as present in the Philippines.
Unpublished recent records include 79 sightings made by METHODS
Kataoka et al. (1995) in Malampaya Sound during six survey
flights of two hours and thirty minutes; a skull collected in Distribution and abundance. - The Irrawaddy dolphin study
a village on Malampaya Sound on the west coast of Palawan was part of a survey made in 1999 to document distribution
by one of us in 1996 (AASPY), sightings in 1998 during a of cetaceans in the northern part of the Su1u Sea and
dolphin-watching cruise in Malampaya Sound (by JMLT), Malampaya Sound. The survey included two stages: 1)
and a stranded specimen from the Philippine Turtle Islands interviews with fishermen living in coastal villages to get
off the coast of the state of Sabah in Malaysian Borneo, some idea of the presence/absence of cetaceans and the
originally reported as Neophocaena phocaenoides but now location of unusual sightings, and 2) a vessel survey. In
identified as O. brevirostris (by WFP). The species occurs addition, local fishermen were asked if they knew of any
widely in other parts of Asia, including Malaysia, Indonesia, cetacean remains (i.e., skulls, teeth, baleen, etc.) or
Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Brunei, Myanmar, India, photographs of stranded animals.
Bangladesh, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Laos, and
Singapore (Perrin et al., 1996; Beasley & Jefferson, 1997; The survey was carried out from 18 June to 15 July 1999,
Stacey & Leatherwood, 1997; Stacey & Arnold, 1999). The from approximately 9.37°N to 12.69N ° and 118.64 0 E to

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 Dolar et a1.: Irrawaddy dolphins Orcaella brevirostris in the Philippines

127.92 °E, and covered a distance of 1,30 I km in the Sulu Dolphin sightings during this survey were then plotted
Sea and 230 km in Malampaya Sound (Figs. 1,2). The against the various depth ranges.
survey in Malampaya Sound was from 30 June to 3 July and
July 12, total survey effort was 28.3 hours. Due to bad Sighting rates for frrawaddy dolphins in Malampaya Sound
weather in the afternoon, all surveys were in the morning, were calculated as the total sightings made in one day divided
from 0650 to 1337 hrs. by the distance (km) covered on that day multiplied by lOO.

The survey boat used in MaJampaya Sound was Fishery interactions. - We visited 20 fishing villages along
approximately 5 m long with a sighting platform about one the northwestern rim of the Sulu Sea and three villages in
meter above the water surface and a cruising speed of 15km/ Malampaya Sound (Figs. I, 2). We interviewed three to
h. The number of observers varied from two to eight; only seven fishermen in each village regarding cetacean-fishery
two consistently used binoculars (7X and 10X). interactions, including directed takes. Information collected
Observations were carried out in sea states Beaufort 0-3. A included fishing methods, approximate number of fishermen
GPS (Magellan NAV 5000DLX) was used to record location and boats, species of fish caught, fishing season, approximate
at the beginning and end of the effort day, every 20 minutes dimensions of nets, fishing effort, incidental and/or directed
during effort, whenever course direction changed, and when cetacean catches, and use of any catches. We also asked
a sighting was made. what the fishermen did with li ve cetaceans caught in their
gear and whether they were aware of the legal protection of
The following were recorded for each sighting: location, whales and dolphins under Philippine law.
species identification, group size estimates, presence of
calves, and nearest distance from boat. Identifying features
were noted. Photographs were taken with a Canon EOS- RESULTS
Elan camera with a 75-300 mm autofocus lens and motor
drive. Distribution. - Of 95 cetacean sightings during the vessel
survey only 17 were of Irrawaddy dolphins. All 17 sightings
Bathymetric data for Malampaya Sound were obtained from were made in Malampaya Sound, with a sighting rate of 7.4
a hydrographic map published by the U.S. Navy ± 2.9 S.E. dolphins/lOO km. Group size ranged from one to
Hydrographic Office, Washington, D.e. (1951). From these 13 with a mean of 5.26 ± 1.06 S.E. (n=15) per group. The
data points, depth was interpolated using ArcView GIS. date, time, group size and location of sightings ofIrrawaddy

119'15' E 119"20'E
I I

1"00' N N

10'50' N

10'45' N -

'" Fishing village

6~~=~~6~0~120 Kilomelers
NTrackline

Water Depth (m)

J 0 - 200 Water depth (m}
200 - 400
400 - 900 0-5
_ 900 -2000 5 - 10
_ 2000-4000 10 - 15
15 - 20
>4000 20 - 30
>30
Fig. I. Map of the Sulu Sea, showing the tracklines covered during Fig. 2. Map of Malampaya Sound. Tracklines of the survey and
the survey and the location of villages visited. the fishing villages are shown.

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 THE RAFFLES BULLETIN OF ZOOLOGY 2002 Supplement No. 10

119'15' E 119j25'E
I 14

12
• This survey (1999)

1"00' N- ~10 01998

r:::
:;:
.c: 8
Cl
en
.... 6
0
0 4
10"55' N Z
2

( 0
0 .. 5.9 6-10.9 11-15.9

10'50' N
Depth (m)
Fig. 4. Number of lrrawaddy dolphin sightings at various water
depths in Malampaya Sound.

dolphins are shown in Table 1. All 17 sightings during the

10'45' N survey, as well as the 1998 sightings, were made in the inner
part of the sound in waters of 15 m or less. Thirteen sightings
or 76% were made in waters less than 6 m deep (Figs. 3 &
Water deplh (m)
• Irrawaddy dolphin (1999)
4). Another species sighted in the sound was the bottlenose
0-5
5 - 10 .. Irrawaddy dolphin (1998) dolphin, Tursiops truncatus; all sightings were made in the
10 - 15
15 - 20 " Bortlenose dolphin outer sound in waters at least 20 m deep (Fig. 3),
20 - 30 (!) Fishing village
>30 S Fishcage
NRiver r Fish corral ('baklad") Fishery interactions - No directed catches were reported for
" Liftnel ("bukatof')
Irrawaddy dolphins in Malampaya Sound. However,
Fig. 3. Cetacean sightings in Malampaya Sound. Sightings made incidental takes were reported in bottom-set gillnets
by Tan in 1998 and the fishing structures in the Sound are also (palubog), fish corrals (baklad), liftnets (bukatot) and crab
shown. Locations of fish cages, fish corrals and liftnets are traps. Based on the interviews, incidental catches appear to
approximations.
be low, estimated at about one to two dolphins per year.
There are three different kinds of fish corrals in Malampaya
Sound: one for shrimp and two (shallow-water and deep-
water) for fish. Bolen (J 999) counted approximately 169

Table I. Details of date, time sighting location and group sizes of Irrawaddy dolphin groups sighted in Malampaya Sound.

Sighting No. Date Time Latitude (N) Longitude (E) Group size

I 30 June 99 729 JO.809 119.424 2

2 30 June 99 800 10.779 I 19.426 8
3 30 June 99 830 10.768 119.429 4
4 30 June 99 850 10.775 119.425 6
5 30 June 99 955 10.794 119.430 13
6 30 June 99 1226 10846 119.397 4
7 I July 99 636 10837 J 19.441 2
8 I July 99 816 10.807 119.374 2
9 I July 99 951 10.807 119.374 2
10 1 July 99 956 10.816 119.379 I
11 J July 99 1056 10.765 119.406 12
12 l July 99 1126 J0773 I 19.415 2
13 I July 99 1136 10.772 119.410 4
14 1 July 99 1145 JO.780 119.433 no estimate
15 1 July 99 1220 10.818 119.433 no estimate
16 3 July 99 1121 10.800 119.376 12
17 12 July 99 1142 10.834 119.360 5

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 Dolar et al.: Irrawaddy dolphins Orcaella brevirostris in the Philippines

Fig. 5. Liftnet Cbukatot") in Malampaya Sound.

shrimp corrals, 14 shallow fish corrals, and five deep fish

corrals in a fishery census made in 1999. Most of these were
o-Buoy Monofilament line up to 600m long oI

in the inner sound. One of the crewmen of the boat we used

for the survey told us that there were occasions when
dolphins trapped in the corrals were speared by the
fishermen. However, on most occasions they were released
alive.

There were approximately 82 liftnets, most in the inner

Crab trap (up to 200 in a line)
sound. This type of net is suspended from a permanent
wooden structure and is lowered at night; a light is used to
attract fish. Once the fish have gathered in the net, it is raised
with a line passed through an overhead block (see Fig. 5).
The net is sometimes fished during the day. The fishermen's
reports to us varied; some said dolphins were never caught,
but others said they do occasionally get trapped.

Crab traps have also been reported to catch dolphins. Up to

200 crab traps are attached to a 600-700-m line suspended
near the surface (Fig. 6). When dolphins swim past, their
flukes sometimes become snagged in the lines and they die.
Bolen (1999) reported 81 sets of traps operating in the sound.
Approximately 30 bottom-set gillnets are deployed in the
Fig. 6. Illustration of crab traps set in Malampaya Sound, which
sound. These nets are reported to occasionally catch
occasionally catch Irrawaddy dolphins.
dolphins.
The distribution in Malampaya Sound appeared to be limited
Results of the survey in the Sulu Sea are detailed in Dolar
to the inner sound, in shallow waters close to shore. The
(1999). No Irrawaddy dolphins were seen there in 1,301
highest concentration was found in depths of 6 m or less,
km of survey effort.
the area which also receives the highest freshwater input from
rivers. The sightings by Tan in 1998 were in the same general
part of the sound (see Fig. 3). Though some fishermen
DISCUSSION
reported that they had seen Irrawaddy dolphins in the outer
sound, we did not see any there. All of the surveys were
The occurrence of O. brevirostris on the west coast of
done in the morning and during high tide and it is possible
Palawan is not surprising. Palawan is faunistically more
closely related to Malaysia, Indonesia and mainland that the dolphins move in and out of the sound during the
Southeast Asia than to the other islands of the Philippines different times of the day, especially between low and high
to the east, probably because it was once part of the tides. Daily movements of Irrawaddy dolphins have been
Pleistocene Asian mainland and the other islands were not reported in Indonesia and in the Lao PDR (Stacey &
(Heaney & Rickart, 1990). The Irrawaddy dolphin is closely Leatherwood, 1997). However, there is also the possibility
tied to very shallow estuarine and riverine waters and is thus that the dolphins near the outer sound that the fishermen
unlikely to colonize distant offshore islands beyond deep reported were bottlenose dolphins; we learned that fishermen
waters. Stacey & Leatherwood (1997) observed that records who live near the outer part of the sound give bottlenose
of this species were "connected by a continuous band of dolphins the same local name (lampasut) as the Irrawaddy
water less than 200m deep". dolphins. In other areas of Southeast Asia, Irrawaddy

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 THE RAFFLES BULLETIN OF ZOOLOGY 2002 Supplement No. 10

dolphins have been found to live in brackish to fresh water from deforested land leading to eutrophication and algal
(Jefferson et aI., 1993; Stacey & Leatherwood, 1997; Dolar blooms. Habitat destruction is considered to be the greatest
et aI., 1997; Stacey & Arnold, 1999). threat to Irrawaddy dolphin populations throughout Asia
(Stacey & Leatherwood, 1997).
The average group size of 5.26 observed in Malampaya
Sound was well within the range of mean group sizes Malampaya Sound has been proposed for protection under
observed in other areas (Stacey & Leatherwood, 1997). the Philippine National Integrated Protected Areas
Programme (NIPAP) (P. Velasco, personal communication).
The area of high dolphin occurrence was also the most The plan is to include the watershed area surrounding the
heavily used portion of the sound and had the highest amount sound and a buffer zone. The sound would be divided into
of boat traffic. Some dolphins seen during the survey had various utilization zones. It is hoped that the results of the
scars on their backs, probably from injuries caused by boat present study will be considered in the zoning of the sound.
propellers (Fig. 7). Fishing structures such as corrals, grouper Recommendations are that: 1) further surveys of distribution,
cages, oyster stakes and liftnets abound, and fishing abundance and movements within the sound and in adjacent
operations using crab traps, multiple hooks and gillnets occur estuarine areas be carried out, including seasonal coverage
in the area. The high productivity and general accessibility (fish corrals pose a difficulty in carrying out a line transect
(for permanent fishery structures) are the most likely factors survey, so population size may be estimated based on mark-
that drew fishing developments to this area. These fisheries recapture analysis of photo-identified animals), and 2) a
are the major sources of income for many families living community-based cooperative action plan be developed to
around the sound and they can be lucrative. For example, reduce conflicts between fishing gear and dolphins.
the harvest of groupers (high-value fishes) from within the
sound in the period 21 Dec. 1997-20 Jan. 1998 was
approximately 2.6 metric tonnes and in Jan. 1999 alone was ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
about 538 kg; grouper cages in the inner sound yielded
approximately 700 kg and 900 kg, respectively, during the We extend our thanks to a long list of people who helped
two periods (BFAR, 1999). make the project possible and took part in the field activities:
Karen Baragona, N. Lim, E. Sonco, R. Sonco, Melvyn
The conservation status of the Irrawaddy dolphin in Dedeste, Bobby Vailoces, Danilo, Espanueva, Petronilo
Malampaya Sound, and by extension, in Philippine waters, Catamora, Alex Doroteo, Danilo Guillermo, Mark Doroteo,
is uncertain but possibly threatened. The animals in Choy Calaqui, Lucibar Beronio Jr., Moonyeen Alava. WWF-
Malampaya Sound could be the last Irrawaddy dolphins US provided the funds for the project; other organizations
remaining in the Philippines and are at risk because of the helping included Silliman University Marine Laboratory and
high vulnerability of their obligate estuarine habitat and WWF-Philippines (KKP).
increasing pressures from human development. Anecdotal
evidence gathered from a 70-year-old fisherman suggested
that the distribution oflrrawaddy dolphins 30 years ago was LITERATURE CITED
more extensive than now. He estimated that the population
began to decline suddenly in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Beasley, 1. & T. A. Jefferson, 1997. Marine mammals of Borneo:
when an influx of fishermen began construction of many a preliminary checklist. Sarawak Mus. l., 11:193-216.
fish traps and corrals. Approximately 75% of the fishermen Bolen, N., 1999. Summary of Fishing Gear Used within Inner
we interviewed said they knew what Irrawaddy dolphin meat Malampaya Sound. April 15, 1999. Draft report, NIPAP.
tastes like. All of them, however, said they were aware of BFAR (Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources of the
the recent legal protection of dolphins and released those Philippines), 1999. Summary of Fish Landings in
they caught alive. Though the incidental catch appears to Liminangcong, Malampaya Sound, Philippines. Draft report,
be low (one or two a year) this may be significant to the BFAR.
apparently very small population inhabiting the sound. Dolar, M. L. L., 1999. A survey of cetaceans and fishery
Increasing human population density around the sound may interactions in the northwestern Sulu Sea and Malampaya
also pose a danger to the dolphins, through increased fishing Sound, Philippines. Report to the World Wildlife Fund - V.S.,
pressure, increased organic wastes, and increased run-off August 27, 1999. 54pp.
Dolar, M. L. L., W.F. Perrin, A. A. Yaptinchay, A. B. Hj. Jaaman,
M. D. Santos, M. N. R. Alava & S. B. Suliansa, 1997.
Preliminary investigation of marine mammal distribution,
abundance and interactions with humans in the southern Sulu
Sea. Asian Mar. BioI., 14:61-81.
Heaney, L. R. & E. A. Rickart, 1990. Correlations of clades and
clines: Geographic, elevational, and phylogenetic distribution
patterns among Philippine mammals. In: Peters, G. & R.
Hutterer (eds.) Vertebrates in the Tropics. Pp. 321-332.
Museum Alexander Koenig, Bonn.
Fig. 7. Irrawaddy dolphin with a large scar on the dorsal fin and
back, probably an injury caused by a boat propeller.

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 Dolar et al.: Irrawaddy dolphins Orcaella brevirostris in the Philippines

Kataoka, T., T. Mori, Y. Wakai, J. Palma, A.A. Yaptinchay, R. De Stacey, P.J. & S. Leatherwood, 1997. The Irrawaddy dolphin,
Veyra & R. Trono, 1995. Dugongs ofthe Philippines: a report Orcaella brevirostris: a summary of current knowledge and
ofthe joint dugong research and conservation program, May, recommendations for conservation action. Asian Mar. Bioi. 14:
1995. Toba Aquarium and the Pawikan Conservation Project. 195-214.
167 pp. Tan, J. M. L., 1997. A Field Guide to Whales and Dolphins in the
Perrin, W. F., Dolar, M. L. L., & Alava, M. N. R., 1996. Report Philippines. Second Ed. Bookmark, Inc., Makati, Metro
of the Workshop on the Biology and Conservation of Small Manila.
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WG.1I2. IOlpp.
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Spec. 616: 1-8.

160