CCAHD Webinar: Regional Collaboration and Conservation Tools for the Critically Endangered Atlantic Humpback Dolphin.

CCAHD Webinar: Regional Collaboration and Conservation Tools for the Critically Endangered Atlantic Humpback Dolphin.

On April 8th, 2025 CCAHD range country partners and stakeholders from across the globe came together for a webinar focused on the urgent need to protect the Atlantic humpback dolphin (Sousa teuszii), a critically endangered species found only along Africa’s Atlantic coast. With fewer than 3,000 individuals remaining and populations isolated across 14 countries, these dolphins face escalating threats from bycatch in artisanal fisheries, coastal development, and habitat degradation. Conservation action has long been hampered by major data gaps on the species’ distribution, biology, and threats.. However, recent international recognition—under the IUCN Red List, the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), and the U.S. Endangered Species Act—marks a turning point for coordinated efforts.

The webinar highlighted the CMS Single Species Action Plan (SSAP) for the Atlantic humpback dolphin, unanimously adopted in February 2024, as a key tool to address these challenges. It also showcased the work of the Consortium for the Conservation of the Atlantic Humpback Dolphin (CCAHD), which unites over 100 partners from all 19 range states. The CCAHD supports local scientists, coordinates field surveys and education campaigns, and promotes regional collaboration, including development of tools like acoustic classifiers and multilingual outreach materials which are downloadable through the resources page of this website The April 8 event reinforced the importance of continued cooperation and funding to secure a future for this unique marine species. The full recording of the webinar is available here.