Economic development often has dire consequences for wildlife and environmental conservation. In Taiwan coastal waters, a small dolphin population is being affected by large-scale habitat loss and degradation resulting from development projects, pollution, vessel traffic and a massive fishing industry. The research aims to identify the threats having the greatest impacts on different aspects of the population ecology and demographics of these long-lived mammals, both temporally and spatially, and to better understand how these animals may be affected by different scales of human activities. The research will then be applied in developing a conservation recovery plan for the species, which can used to help sustain the Taiwanese dolphin population and be applied in Canadian waters to help save endangered species with similar traits.