The first edition of the widely praised Marine Protected Areas for Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises, published in 2005, led to numerous new marine protected area proposals and a number of notable conservation successes around the world. In this second edition, new developments in the Mediterranean, Caribbean and Pacific are outlined, as well as future directions employing a regional and international approach for the High Seas. The process of protected area creation for cetaceans has been accelerated and more than 200 exciting new places are included in this edition with location, size, species, rationale and other background details.
Marine Protected Areas for Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises provides a route map for countries to meet the ambitious targets for highly protected MPA networks by 2012 and 2020. It is an essential conservation tool and a springboard for worldwide change in human attitudes toward the world ocean where all life originated and where the majority of life on Earth still lives.
Erich Hoyt is Senior Research Associate of the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society and Co-director of the Far East Russia Orca Project. He is author of 13 books, 8 of them on whales and dolphins.
"The definitive account of the status and protection of cetaceans – a well-written and interesting work on an important subject, accessible to both experts and general readers."
– Edward O Wilson, Harvard University, and winner of the Pulitzer Prize
"Multiple strategies are needed to reverse the decline of whales and dolphins, and one of these is creating protected areas for them. Renowned writer and leading authority on whale watching Erich Hoyt takes us on a fascinating journey across the complex and uncharted world of protected areas for cetaceans. This highly informative book will become a source of inspiration and understanding for the decision-maker as well as for the layperson, and an exhaustive repository of information and references for the specialist"
– Giuseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara, IUCN/SSC Cetacean Specialist Group and Tethys, Italy