Are Pacific white-sided dolphins endangered?
• In Canada, Pacific white-sided dolphins are listed as “Not at Risk”, due to their large population numbers and wide distribution, but in many parts of their range across the North Pacific Ocean, these dolphins are taken both directly and indirectly in fisheries. • During the 1980s, up to 90,000 Pacific white-sided dolphins were killed in the Japanese, Korean and Taiwanese squid driftnet fisheries and the Taiwanese large-mesh driftnet fishery. Fortunately for the dolphins, these fisheries were discontinued following a 1992 United Nations resolution. • In the late 1990s, there was a recorded decline in Pacific white-sided dolphins in the Broughton Archipelago, which correlated with the use of underwater acoustic deterrent devices by the salmon farming industries. These very loud sound sources were used to deter seals and sea lions from entering fish farms where they eat the farmed fish and cause significant damage to the farm infrastructure. • Although acoustic deterrents have now been