Abstract

Between 1982 and 1993, 55 coastal locations throughout Mexico were visited to investigate mortality of small cetaceans. A total of 139 records concerning the use of small cetaceans by fishermen were obtained. The species recorded were, in decreasing order of frequency: Delphinus sp., Stenella attenuata, Tursiops truncatus, Phocoena sinus, Globicephala macrorhynchus and Stenella frontalis. Areas with the highest relative abundance of cetaceans coincided with major fishing areas, making fishery/cetacean interactions likely.