CCAHD collaboration reinforces capacity for stranding response and data collection in Guinea

CCAHD collaboration reinforces capacity for stranding response and data collection in Guinea

Between 2021 and 2024, funding from the Mohamed Bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund supported a multi-faceted collaborative dolphin research and conservation project in Guinea, which included boat-based surveys, interview surveys, stakeholder engagement and capacity building.  The government partner in this project was the National Center for Aquatic Sciences in Boussara (le Centre National des Sciences Halieutiques de Boussoura –CNSHB).

As the government agency responsible for marine and coastal research, the CNSHB has long been involved in cetacean stranding response, with activities supported by various initiatives, including the Japanese Cetacean Research Institute, in the past.  In May 2024, the CCAHD collaborated with Biotope Guinea to conduct a workshop to reinforce the skills of CNSHB staff involved in cetacean stranding response and data collection. The workshop covered practical elements such as species identification, reasons for cetacean strandings, and basic data collection and sampling protocols.  Participants were given simple sampling kits donated by the US Marine Mammal Commission, and printed water proof species identification guides and sampling protocol guides. A follow-up virtual training was conducted in May 2025 to review data storage and archiving protocols using an online database designed by the CCAHD for the CNSHB.

In 2024-2025, the CNSHB has responded to 8 stranding events involving 6 different species, including a Bryde’s whale (Balaenoptera edeni), a humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae), a minke whale calf (Balaenoptera acutorostrata), two melon-headed whales (Peponocephala electra), two bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and an Atlantic humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis).   In each case, teams from the CNSHB have been able to respond to reports from the public and travel to the stranding site to examine the carcass and collect valuable samples and data.  Using datasheets provided by the CCAHD, the teams were able to record details that are stored in a national online database, and can be consulted over time to assess possible trends and standing hotspots.

The relatively high number of strandings recorded in the past two years may represent an increase in threats or perturbance in cetaceans’ natural habitat.  However, it may also reflect increased awareness among the general public of the value of reporting strandings, following television and media coverage of various events linked to the recent cetacean project.

Although external funding for the project has finished, the CCAHD, and Biotope Guinea continue to collaborate with the CNSHB, and are actively searching for funds to continue their collaboration and build on the successes, momentum and scientific gains made in recent years.  Please contact us if you would like to know how you can help support these valuable efforts.