The Center for Regulatory Effectiveness Brasil has asked the International Whaling Commission to review and support the recommendations of a Field Guide that was prepared by the Petrobras Research and Development Center (CENPES/Petrobras), and the Marine Mammal Studies Group in the Lagos Region (GEMM-Lagos).  This Field Guide is entitled Whales, River Dolphins, and Dolphins in the Campos Basin. The Field Guide concludes that “pollution, ship traffic, and fishing constitute the main threats to the survival and the continuation of these species.” It also recommends that all of the Brazilian Abrolhos Bank be designated as critical habitat for Humpback Whales.

The Field Guide’s lead individual author, Professor Salvatore Siciliano, stated in an interview that pollution is “by far” the biggest current threat to Brazil’s marine mammals. Professor Siciliano further stated that he doesn’t think that oil and gas exploration and production in the area poses a significant threat to marine mammals because “everything is done with the greatest care.”

CRE Brasil’s letter to the IWC and a white paper on the Field Guide are found online at the Ocean Zoning IPD at http://www.thecre.com/creipd/?p=128.

The Field Guide is available online at http://thecre.com/pdf/Binder1.pdf.

CRE invites comments on these documents.  Comments may be submitted on CRE’s Discussion Forum, which is available online at http://www.thecre.com/zoning-forum/?p=208.