Franciscana Dolphin

The Franciscana (also known as La Plata River Dolphin) is classified as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature due to fishing-related mortality at levels believed to be unsustainable. The expansion of gillnet fisheries within the species’ home range is predicted to accelerate the population's decline.

The Franciscana CMP was adopted by the IWC in 2016, and was the first CMP endorsed for a small cetacean species.  Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay are signatories to the CMP and Argentina was appointed co-ordinator in 2017.    

The overall aim of the CMP is to protect Franciscana habitat and minimise anthropogenic threats, particularly by-catch.

Progress to date

Progress to date includes the appointment of a Co-ordinator and Steering Committee, and the implementation of actions to reduce bycatch, and research on population structure and acoustics. A co-ordination meeting was held in June 2018 to determine priority actions to progress under the CMP.  

You can read The Franciscana CMP here.

Click here to read about a research programme, supported by the IWC Small Cetaceans Voluntary Fund, which is working to improve abundance estimates for Franciscana, in order to guide conservation actions.

Priority work areas

Priority actions for the CMP during the 2018-20 intersessional period include:

• Continuing to investigate population structure.
• Monitoring abundance, trends, and bycatch.
• Mitigating bycatch.
• Developing or implementing protected areas.
• Encouraging the implementation of the National Action Plan to reduce the interactions of marine mammals with fisheries in Argentina.
• Developing a strategy to increase public awareness of the Franciscana.
• Including the Franciscana in bilateral and multilateral discussions.