PYFDE crew in action aboard KeKao No.1 as they pass through the Honghu Xin-Luo National Baiji Reserve on World Water Day 2006 Eight days of living together aboard 33m-long KeKao No.1 creates lasting friendships and a powerful team spirit for the November 06 Range-Wide Yangtze Expedition Executive Committee team members: August Pfluger CEO Baiji.org Foundation and Wang Ding Director of the IHB Baiji research Team Bob Pitman makes friends with the world's first ever captive born finless porpoise at the Wuhan IHB Dolphinarium Beat Muller of EAWAG shares his freshwater expertise with Wei Zhuo, engineer of the IHB Baiji Research Team Bob Pitman of NOAA and IHB students using a combination of binocular and naked eye observation techniques to search for baiji and porpoises Jay Barlow of NOAA preparing to conduct acoustical recordings of the ambient sound produced by KeKeo No.1 Confident IHB PhD student observers prepare to conduct independent hydrophone tests using the floating zodiac Pilot Expedition Coordinator: Leigh Barrett, Project Manager Baiji.org Foundation Bob Pitman shares his Killer Whale adventures with a fascinated expedition crew Powerful teamspirit: Xiangfeng Zhang (IHB), Wang Ding (IHB), August Pfluger (Baiji.org), Daniel Jassem (American Embassy, Beijing) Typical post survey evening meeting aboard KeKao No.1: Xiangfeng discusses the planned route for the following day Beat Muller enjoys the never ending culinary delights offered by KeKao No.1's fabulous chef Bob Pitman, proud to be raising awareness for baiji and Yangtze finless porpoise conservation in the People's Daily, the countries's leading official newspaper Zhang Xin Qiao, a PhD student from IHB's Baiji research Team scanning the Yangtze for porpoises and baiji

The team spent nine days aboard a large dolphin research vessel, travelling 235km along the Yangtze between the densely populated riverside cities of Wuhan and Yueyang; testing survey methodology, deploying acoustical monitoring equipment, and sampling river water quality in an effort to better understand China’s rare baiji river dolphin and its ever developing freshwater habitat.

As the crew passed through the Xin-Luo National Baiji Reserve on the UN's symbolic Day for World Water they made a special plea for action from Western corporations and NGO’s to help China better protect its National Treasure and its freshwater habitat.

The event was a fundamental human capacity and team spirit building component of a major Yichang to Shanghai Expedition planned by the IHB-Baiji.org freshwater conservation partnership for November 2006. The pilot was co-organized and sponsored by the Chinese Academy of Sciences IHB, the Baiji.org foundation, the Swiss watch-makers Swatch and pen-knife producers Victorionox.

In order to develop successful conservation management plans to better protect the dolphin and its threatened freshwater habitat, scientists and decision-makers need basic, accurate information on the number of dolphins left in the river and their distribution. In actual fact nobody knows exactly where the last baiji live. Only two opportunistic sightings were reported along a 1500km stretch of the river in 2005. No accurate baiji information has been gathered in the last ten years due to lack of funding and know-how for producing reliable data about the dwindling population in this rapidly changing and increasingly industrialized river system.

To gather reliable population figures and data on the last remaining habitats of the baiji river dolphin and Yangtze finless porpoise, this fall the Institute for Hydrobiology in Wuhan, in collaboration with the baiji.org foundation and cetacean experts from NOAA, EAWAG and other research organisations, will stage a major expedition to research the current situation. The team of scientists and conservationists aboard the expedition's two ships will travel over 1700km down the Yangtze from Yichang to Shanghai to conduct a reliable count of the baiji and gather data on water quality and potential baiji conservation areas.

The baiji.org-IHB freshwater partnership launched a Pilot Yangtze Freshwater Dolphin Expedition during the UN’s 6th World <<Water and Human Culture>> Campaign to develop the most appropriate and sophisticated methodology for the November 06 range-wide survey. The team spirit building exercise created the perfect platform for experts from China, Switzerland and the US to work together and focus their attention on finding the baiji and Yangtze Finless porpoise. Pioneer survey theorist, Jay Barlow, world-class dolphin observer Bob Pitman of NOAA and water specialist, Beat Muller of the Swiss EAWAG Institute were invited by China’s IHB baiji conservation management team to help address the data gathering challenges presented by the unpredictable Yangtze River conditions.

The IHB's large dolphin research vessel, KeKao No.1, left for Yueyang from Wuhan City harbour on March 17th, carrying an international team of twenty two scientists, conservationists and decision-makers. The crew from China, Switzerland, US and the UK spent nine days travelling up and downstream; testing survey methodology, deploying acoustical monitoring equipment; and sampling river quality in an effort to optimize techniques for finding and assessing the habitat of the baiji and finless porpoise. Even though the crew were at times hindered by fog, the sighting rates increased as the expedition progressed and a total of 50 porpoises were recorded.

Following nine days of binocular and naked eye observation from KeKao's 4m high viewing deck, Jay Barlow concluded that the high level of shipping and navigational restrictions would make it impossible to use the standard methodology for surveying dolphins in oceanic and less industrialized river habitats. He recommended that a more opportunistic sampling approach be adopted and a computer model-based analysis method be used to estimate the number and distribution of remaining dolphins and Yangtze finless porpoises. Barlow created an appropriate local design based on his extensive Amazon dolphin survey work and the valuable Yangtze Finless porpoise data gathered during the pilot expedition. He also suggested that the two expedition vessels travel 24hrs apart. This modification to the normal method of surveying river dolphins would compensate for the little information known about the speed at which the two mammals travel and the amount of time they spend submerged underwater.

Several acoustical recordings were made throughout the expedition from both KeKao No.1 and a free floating zodiac to determine whether such monitoring technology would feasibly detect any baiji and porpoises missed by the observers on the viewing deck. The DAT audio files revealed that the high level of ambient noise from the research vessel and passing boat traffic would make it difficult to detect the baiji's high frequency sonar whistles if the acoustical hydrophone was towed using standard practices. Barlow is now working with acoustical engineer, Wang Kexiong of the IHB, to analyse the audio recordings and develop an independent towed hydrophone system to resolve this problem. The team will conduct further tests to see if audio filters will help separate the whistles from the background noise and the system will be rigorously tested and refined prior to the main expedition. Barlow recommended that a real-time acoustical monitoring screen be used during the main expedition so that the whistles can be seen and the acoustical engineers can alert observers of passing submerged baiji.

Bob Pitman of NOAA, who is probably the world's most experienced cetacean observer, spent every daylight hour on the top deck, training IHB students and working out the most effective strategy for finding dolphins using the naked eye and binoculars. He concluded that sighting rates would greatly improve with simple changes to the present equipment list and recommended that superior 7 x 50 optics and big-eye 25 x 150 oceanic binoculars be used in the main expedition to compensate for the constraints of being restricted to the shipping lanes and to prevent observer fatigue. He devised an optimal observer rotation system to minimise the number of animals missed by tiredness and made further recommendations for the IHB to conduct training courses in Dongting Lake prior to November. Bob has already signed up to come back for the entire Range-Wide Expedition!

Swiss EAWAG hydrologist, Beat Muller, took water and sediment samples in the Shishou National Baiji Reserve to compare the suitability of the water quality in the reserve to the two mammals natural riverine habitat. His analysis will be completed when he returns from China at the end of April. Based on his immediate findings he has proposed a rigorous water quality monitoring programme for baiji and finless porpoise hotspots and determined that a specialized dredging system would need to be developed to allow sediment samples to be taken from the river bed in the main channel.

The team are in the process of producing a detailed Pilot Yangtze Freshwater Dolphin Expedition Survey Design Report. This will be available to download from the baiji.org website on April 20th.