Threats
Despite having a smaller distribution than the short-beaked dolphin and probably a far smaller overall population, the long-beaked dolphin is thought to still have a relatively widespread population in the high tens of thousands or even low hundreds of thousands (1) (7). However, in some regions, such as West Africa, East Asia and the east and west coasts of South America, undetermined numbers of long-beaked dolphin are being directly exploited, or taken as incidental bycatch in other fisheries (1). In Peru and West Africa in particular, there is increasing concern about the number of long-beaked dolphin being caught and used for human food and shark-bait (1) (6) (7). Given the lack of data quantifying these impacts, the long-beaked dolphin is currently listed as Data Deficient on the IUCN Red List (1).
