Abstract

Agoa: A Marine Protected Area Devoted to Marine Mammal Conservation. Over twenty species of marine mammal frequent the sanctuary’s waters: toothed whales (odontoceti) like sperm whales and pantropical spotted dolphins, and baleen whales (Mysticeti) like humpback whales which come to breed and give birth in the warm Caribbean waters. We know little about the offshore, ocean part of Agoa and even less about the way marine mammals live in this area. We do have a little more knowledge about parts nearer to the coast where the animals use lagoon areas, rocky slopes, and canyons in various ways. These more coastal zones are also used for maritime practices, i.e. fishing, boating, and shipping, which are sources of pressure and potential threats for the marine mammals. Marine mammals are popular with the general public but much remains to be learned in terms of scientific knowledge. Improving knowledge is thus one of the Agoa sanctuary’s key goals.

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