The main threats to cetaceans in UAE waters include: incidental mortality in trawl, drift and anchored gill nets, depletion of prey populations (due in part to commercial overfishing); ship and boat strikes, disturbance due to underwater noise (including that from vessel traffic, drilling, piling, military operations and seismic activity related to offshore oil and gas exploration). Inshore and shallow-water species are further potentially threatened by entanglement in abandoned fishing gear, coastal development including port and harbour construction, dredging, land reclamation, residential and tourist development, and pollution (especially hydrocarbons). A lack of information (e.g. population size and trend, the location of critical habitats, and feeding ecology) hinders the development of appropriate conservation actions, but this should be used as an excuse for inaction.