other main port adjacent to known habitat hotspots. There are further ports that require attention in the region. # of ship strikes Unknown No confirmed reports of ship strikes of ASHW available, though there are records of Bryde’s and Blue Whales being struck by ships in the region, including Oman and Sri Lanka. # of bycaught whales Poor Direct observations of entanglement, strandings and scarring indicate unsustainable bycatch. Habitat connectivity Ability to access critical habitats Fair Current movement of whales appears largely unhindered, but continued access to critical habitat may be under pressure due to the amount of vessel traffic and fishing activity that is increasing. The EWS-WWF assessment report also describes in detail the research methods that can be used to measure the status of these KEAs, and defines and quantifies the current and future desired indicator ratings (Table 2). Table 2. Summary of indicator ratings for Arabian Sea humpback whale KEAs () KEA Indicator Indicator Rating Current Rating Rating Date of Rating Poor Fair Good Very Good Population size # of whales in study area <60 60-150 >150 >250 Fair Good May 2017 # of whale encounters per day during dedicated surveys < 1 whale p/d (ave) 1-4 whales p/d (ave) 5-10 whales p/d (ave) >10 whales p/d (ave) Fair Good May 2017 # of dead whales per year Deaths > estimated Deaths = estimated Deaths < estimated 0 Poor Good May 2017
maps and assist stakeholders in the design of local, national and regional conservation strategies, including protected areas from range states used in development of Action Plan Committee 4 (likely mid 2020) An improved website that provides a portal to the shared database (see above), informs the general public of whale conservation needs, and provides members with a range of outreach tools to engage governments and other stakeholders in their region and involve them in Whale conservation efforts Linking of website to Online data platform, dissemination of infographic Development of outreach tools for fishing communities Continual update of website and translation and dissemination of tools as part of Action Plan communication strategy Capacity-building and development and implementation of mitigation strategies Organization of targeted regional workshops, meetings and training opportunities that will involve local and national government agencies as well as young scientists, build capacity and develop multi-stakeholder mitigation strategies and conservation measures in key range states. IWC disentanglement workshop in Pakistan, India Meeting of ASWN team in conjunction with Indian meeting in Maldives Meetings to draft and launch Action Plan Progress reported to CMS Scientific Council Sessional Committee 5 (likely mid 2022) Replication of ship strike mitigation strategies from Oman, and by-catch mitigation from Pakistan to other parts of the Arabian Sea. Workshops in Oman Pakistan to demonstrate and train other range states Implementation of programme in other range states and data contributions Evaluation of programme effectiveness and use of data to draft plan July-20 Development of a range state endorsed regional ASHW Conservation and Management Plan Identification of drafting team Collaborators correspond regularly completed by July 2020 , refined and endorsed by range states December 2020