Risso's Dolphin - Conservation

Conservation

The Risso's dolphin populations of the North Sea, Baltic Sea and Mediterranean Sea are listed on Appendix II of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), since they have an unfavourable conservation status or would benefit significantly from international co-operation organised by tailored agreements.

In addition, Risso's dolphin is covered by the Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic, North East Atlantic, Irish and North Seas (ASCOBANS), the Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans in the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Contiguous Atlantic Area (ACCOBAMS), the Memorandum of Understanding for the Conservation of Cetaceans and Their Habitats in the Pacific Islands Region (Pacific Cetaceans MoU)and the Memorandum of Understanding Concerning the Conservation of the Manatee and Small Cetaceans of Western Africa and Macaronesia (Western African Aquatic Mammals MoU).

Risso's dolphin are protected in the United States under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1992. The only country known to actively hunt Risso's dolphin is Japan. On October 20th, 2012 - volunteer activists live streamed a slaughter of an entire pod of Risso's dolphins in Taiji, Japan. The live broadcast generated considerable buzz on Twitter which thousands of comments. To this day, Japan continues to hunt the Risso's dolphin using the controversial practice of slaughtering entire pods.