THOMAS JEFFERSON

Dr. Thomas Jefferson is the Co-Director of the Ocean Park Conservation Foundation, Hong Kong, and a Visiting Scientist at the Southwest Fisheries Science Center, La Jolla, California. He has been studying marine mammals since 1983, and has conducted research on a variety of different species in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Peru, and throughout Southeast Asia. He has published over 60 scientific papers and books, 6 popular articles, and one CD-ROM. Since 1995, Dr. Jefferson has been conducting research mainly on dolphins and porpoises in Southeast Asia, and leads a long-term project on Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins and finless porpoises in Hong Kong waters. He completed his Ph.D. in 1995 at Texas A&M University, on cetaceans in offshore waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

ABSTRACT

"Entanglement Problems of Coastal and Riverine Small Cetaceans." Entanglement in fishing nets (especially gillnets) is one of the most serious problems affecting the immediate survival of most species of dolphins and porpoises in coastal and riverine waters. Virtually all coastal and riverine species are affected, but the problems are generally most severe for several very nearshore species (e.g., the baiji, vaquita, harbor porpoise. Hector's dolphin). These problems are reviewed and potential solutions to them are discussed, with an emphasis on Asian species.