An overview of cetacean strandings,bycatches and rescues along the western coast of the Taiwan Strait,China: 2010–2015

鲸豚类是大型的海洋哺乳动物，是海洋中的重点保护生物。在制定相应的保护政策前，应较为充分地了解其种群特征。而分析一个地区的鲸豚搁浅等信息，则能够为该地区提供其组成和物种多样性等基本信息。本研究收集了2010-2015年台湾海峡西岸发生的鲸豚类的搁浅、误捕和救护等资料和样本。结果共记录了48例事件，其中包括37例搁浅事件，8例误捕事件和3例救护事件，共涵盖了13个鲸豚物种。其中，中华白海豚和江豚占较大比例，分别为31.3%和25%。值得注意的是，其中10起事件（20.8%）发生在平潭岛，而且包含了3种须鲸和4种齿鲸。另外，我们还比较了台湾海峡东西两侧鲸豚物种的组成，发现共有31种鲸豚物种生活在台湾海峡，说明该地区的鲸豚物种丰富度较高。通过这些信息的收集和分析，我们基本摸清了台湾海峡的鲸豚物种分布。今后，我们将通过开展野外调查来系统地分析台湾海峡的鲸类物种组成，种群大小和栖息地状况等基础资料，为提供更好的保护管理打下良好基础。

An overview of cetacean strandings, bycatches and rescues along the western coast of the Taiwan Strait, China: 2010-2015

The analysis of cetacean strandings can provide fundamental information about species diversity and composition in a particular region. The present study collected and analyzed cetacean strandings, bycatches and rescues along the western coast of the Taiwan Strait, China, from 2010 to 2015. In total, 48 records, including 37 strandings, 8 bycatches and 3 rescues, involving 13 known species were collected. Among them, Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins (Sousa chinensis) and finless porpoises (Neophocaena phocaenoides) were the most common species, consisting of 31.3% and 25%, respectively. Notably, 10 out of the 48 (20.8%) records were collected from the Pingtan Island and included 3 species of Mysticeti and 4 species of Odontoceti. Finally, we compared the cetacean species composition between the western and eastern coasts of the Taiwan Strait; 31 cetacean species occurred in the Taiwan Strait, indicating a relatively high cetacean diversity in this region. Systematic field surveys are urgently needed to explore the cetacean species composition, population stock and the related habitat status in the Taiwan Strait, which may improve conservation management in the future.