CRD 01-17
Session
III: Protected Species
| The
Right Whale Sighting Advisory System: locating right whales,
advising mariners, and battling
nausea |
Session
III: Protected Species
Abstract No. III-1
ORAL PRESENTATION |
Presentation
Kelly Houle
NOAA/NMFS/NERO,
166 Water St., Woods Hole, MA 02543-1026
The Northeast Right Whale
Sighting Advisory System (SAS), implemented in1997, currently serves
as the most effective method of disseminating timely sightings data
to mariners. With a population estimated at approximately 300-350 individuals,
the North Atlantic right whale, Eubalaena glacialis, remains
critically endangered despite long-term bans on hunting. The National
Marine Fisheries Service, US Coast Guard, State of Massachusetts, and
other organizations, have coordinated efforts for the RW SAS to survey
both coastal and offshore waters. These include the Great South Channel
and Cape Cod Bay Right Whale Critical Habitats, Gulf of Maine, Georges
Bank, southern New England, and Bay of Fundy. Four dedicated platforms,
including three aircraft and one vessel, collect data on the location
of right whales from January to June. The RW SAS is operational year-round,
providing current right whale location data from surveys and verified
opportunistic reports to the maritime industry and fishing community
via multi-media sources.
During the 2001 NMFS NER
season over 14,000 trackline nautical miles were surveyed, with 508
individual right whales sighted. Data obtained from flights include
positions of right whales and other marine mammals, fishing gear, commercial
shipping traffic, and environmental data. Right whale photographs
are taken, identifying characteristics are recorded, and behaviors
are noted. Further, on-scene advisories are given to vessels approaching
right whales to deter whale and ship encounters. Occasionally, the
aerial survey team is called to verify reports of entangled and floating
dead whales, and to offer aerial support during disentanglement attempts. This
past June and July, the team assisted in disentanglement of right whale
#1102, also known as Churchill. From the sightings, 140 right whale
faxes were sent out between January and 15 October 2001, alerting mariners
of right whale presence. This sighting information is provided to
reduce the likelihood of ships colliding with, or striking right whales. Ship
strikes and entanglements in fixed fishing gear are the two primary
sources of human caused mortality to right whales.
| The
Right Whale Sighting Advisory System: who knows a right whale
from a left whale anyway? |
Session
III: Protected Species
Abstract No. III-2
ORAL PRESENTATION |
Presentation
Patricia A. McGinn
NOAA/NMFS/NERO, 166 Water St., Woods Hole, MA 02543-1026
The Northeast Right Whale
Advisory System (SAS) provides timely right whale sighting information
to mariners in an effort to reduce ship strikes with the critically
endangered North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis). Sightings
reported to the SAS are from dedicated right whale survey efforts and
opportunistic sightings. Dedicated sightings are typically obtained
from aerial and ship surveys specifically engaged in conducting right
whale research, such as NMFS (Northeast Fisheries Science Center and
Northeast Region), Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, Center
for Coastal Studies, and the New England Aquarium. Opportunistic sightings
are reports of right whales (or other marine mammals), provided by
sources not specifically engaged in carrying out dedicated right whale
surveys. These sources include the US Coast Guard and Navy, Massachusetts
Environmental Police, fast ferries, party boats, commercial dredges,
whale watch, fishing, recreational, and commercial vessels.
Opportunistic sightings are
important to the SAS for a number of reasons. Vessel operators, naturalists
and protected species observers provide reports from areas not covered
by dedicated surveys. Many opportunistic reports also occur during
periods when surveys are not conducted. These reports greatly enhance
the effectiveness of the SAS. Each opportunistic sighting is verified
through a series of standard questions. An aircraft with experienced
marine mammal observers may also be sent to validate reports. Opportunistic
sightings have increased in number since the implementation of SAS. Ideally,
increased opportunistic sightings from the entire western Atlantic
would benefit the right whales’ plight, since their yearly migrations
are from the Bay of Fundy to off the coast of Florida and Georgia. An
immediate area of concern is the Mid-Atlantic where very little aerial
or ship surveying occurs. At the present time limited opportunistic
sightings are received from the Mid-Atlantic area, which includes the
large and busy shipping ports of New York, New Jersey, and Norfolk,
Virginia. Until dedicated surveys can be conducted in this area, we
must rely on opportunistic sightings. Expanded outreach and educational
efforts are needed to heighten awareness of the right whales’ vulnerability
to collisions with ships to encourage increased participation from
within the marine community.
|
Northeast
Fisheries Science Center aerial surveys
for right whales (Eubalaena glacialis), 1998 - 2001 |
Session
III: Protected Species
Abstract No. III-3
ORAL PRESENTATION |
Presentation
Timothy V.N. Cole, Frederick
W. Wenzel, and Amy E. Renner
NOAA/NMFS/NEFSC,
166 Water St., Woods Hole, MA 02543-1026
Aerial surveys for North
Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) were conducted by
the Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) during the spring and
fall of 1998, and in the spring of 1999, 2000 and 2001. The study
area encompassed waters from eastern Long Island (72°51' W) east to
the Hague Line (66°40' W), and from the New York shipping lanes and
the southern edge of Georges Bank (40°21' N) north to the entrance
of Penobscot Bay (43°40' N). The objectives of the surveys were: (1)
to census offshore areas where systematic sighting effort had been
largely absent; and (2) to photographically identify individual right
whales in these areas to improve knowledge of population structure,
with an emphasis on capturing animals that do not occur in more intensively
studied coastal habitats. Surveys were flown at 100 knots and at an
altitude of 230 meters (750 feet) in high-wing aircraft equipped with
bubble windows. Environmental factors affecting sighting conditions
were logged on all flights. During the surveys, 37,912 kms of transect
lines were completed (316 hours of effort), and a total of 328 sightings
of right whales made. Sightings primarily occurred in the vicinity
of the Great South Channel and on the Northern Edge of Georges Bank. Right
whales were also observed in areas not previously documented. A comparison
of the photographs taken in 1999 and 2000 of right whales sighted to
an existing catalogue of individuals found 92 known individuals. In
1999, two identified individuals were sighted only during the NEFSC’s
survey effort, and five in 2000 -- one of which had not been resighted
since 1988. The ‘recapture’ of these individuals is likely to affect
estimates of vital rates for the population, and underscores the importance
maintaining systematic survey efforts.
|
A
review of current NMFS scientific and management
efforts to recover the North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena
glacialis) |
Session
III: Protected Species
Abstract No. III-4
ORAL PRESENTATION |
Presentation
Despite 30 years of protection
under the Endangered Species Act, the North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena
glacialis) has shown little recovery. Indeed, recent analyses
suggest that survival rates and population abundance levels have declined. Lack
of recovery is partially due to continued anthropogenic mortality,
due primarily to entanglement in fixed fishing gear and ship strikes. The
1994 amendments to the Marine Mammal Protection Act provided an important
tool for the reduction of gear interactions through the development
of take reduction plans. On July 22, 1997, NMFS published the first
results of this process as included in the Atlantic Large Whale Take
Reduction Plan. The Plan contained a number of approaches to reducing
gear interactions. Some dealt with modifications to fishing gear,
while others dealt with fishing time and area closures in critical
right whale habitat areas. Since 1997, NMFS and the Atlantic Large
Whale Take Reduction Team (ALWTRT) have monitored the efficacy of the
plan and made significant modifications to the Plan in February 1999
and in December 2000. However, entanglements and associated mortalities
of right whales have continued. This has led to the development, beginning
in February 2000, of a revised strategy to further reduce gear interactions. This
strategy, which is currently undergoing implementation, has three elements:
1) additional time-area closures to all but whale safe gear, 2) additional
gear modifications in other areas, and 3) enhanced monitoring of the
Plan’s effectiveness. The most significant of these elements are likely
the additional gear restrictions. First, areas with predictable annual
concentrations of right whales will be considered for Seasonal Area
Management (SAM). Such areas would have specific boundaries and pre-designated. Specification
of additional SAM zones continues the management approach used in 1997
in establishing the Cape Cod Bay and Great South Channel Restricted
Areas for right whale conservation. Second, areas without predictable
concentrations may be considered for Dynamic Area Management. In these
areas, additional gear restrictions will not be invoked unless concentrations
of right whales have been found by qualified observers. Once concentrations
are seen, NMFS will invoke a minimum two week restricted area around
the animals. With these management measures in place, NMFS efforts
to recover the North Atlantic right whale will now turn to dealing
with ship strike mortalities.
|
An
overview of the Northeast Fisheries Science
Center Sea Turtle Program |
Session
III: Protected Species
Abstract No. III-5
ORAL PRESENTATION |
Cheryl E. Ryder
NOAA/NMFS/NEFSC, 166 Water St., Woods Hole, MA 02543-1026
Data from aerial and shipboard
surveys, fisheries observer programs, strandings and mark-recapture
and telemetry studies indicate that four species of turtles migrate
northward along the continental shelf of the eastern U.S. to forage
in highly productive, nearshore habitats during the spring, summer
and fall months. These include primarily early life history stages
of cheloniid loggerhead (Caretta caretta), Kemp’s ridley (Lepidochelys
kempii) and green (Chelonia mydas) turtles; and sub-adult
and adult leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea). Although
numerous studies have been conducted on the behavior and ecology of
turtles in the northeast, it was not until 2000 that a dedicated National
Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) sea turtle program was established
in the Northeast Region. Staff of the Northeast Fisheries Science
Center (NEFSC) and the Northeast Regional Office (NERO) finalized a
five-year research and management plan to direct the northeast sea
turtle program in December 2000. The objectives of the five-year plan
are: (1) to prioritize, support, and direct future research on sea
turtles; (2) identify and assess the status of loggerhead, Kemp’s ridley,
green and leatherback sea turtle stocks; and (3) to reduce the estimated
bycatch associated with fishing activities. Many of the initiatives
in 2001 were directed toward investigating sea turtle mortality in
Virginia state waters. Elevated sea turtle strandings are documented
annually in Virginia during the migration in May through June. The
magnitude of this stranding event has increased in recent years and
includes primarily decomposed loggerheads and secondarily, Kemp’s ridley
and green turtles. Turtles examined by necropsy were found to be in
good health prior to their death, supporting an anthropogenic source
of mortality. In 2001, NMFS undertook a comprehensive investigation
of possible factors contributing to this mortality, with the goal of
instituting an effective management plan to reduce future mortalities. This
program consisted of: (1) inshore and offshore aerial surveys to record
sea turtle sightings and commercial fishing activity; (2) near 100
percent observer coverage in the large mesh monkfish gillnet fishery;
(3) alternative platform coverage of the large mesh black drum and
sandbar shark gillnet fisheries; (4) alternative platform surveys of
pound net leaders; and (5) support for sonar surveys of pound net leaders
and gillnet gear. Data collected under these initiatives and previous
studies of Chesapeake Bay turtle entanglements suggested that pound
nets with large mesh and stringer leaders were the most likely cause
of sea turtle strandings in Chesapeake Bay during the spring of 2001.
NMFS is currently working with the state of Virginia and the pound
net industry to enact management measures that will reduce future sea
turtle entanglements in pound net leaders.
