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Commercial Fisheries News
Volume 33 Number 8
April 2006
Whales: Winter of gear restrictions in Gulf of Maine, Southeast Atlantic; new ALWTRP rules in the making
GLOUCESTER, MA - The presence of aggregations of northern right whales caused a series of fixed-gear-restricted zones in January and February in the Gulf of Maine, while a right whale calf mortality prompted a gillnet ban off Georgia and Florida that was in effect through the end of March.
As it took those temporary actions to reduce the risk of whale entanglement in fishing gear, National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) also continued to work on its Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan (ALWTRP).
The final rule implementing changes to the ALWTRP is expected to be published early this summer. At about the same time, NMFS is also expected to publish a proposed rule describing the agency’s ship strike strategy for reducing risk to large whales.
DAM zones
Starting in January, NMFS acted through its Dynamic Area Management (DAM) program to set up a series of zones to provide protection for aggregations of right whales.
Each DAM zone remained in effect for 15 days, and the coordinates changed as the group of whales moved within the Gulf of Maine. Fishermen with lobster trap or anchored gillnets within the zones were required to either comply with gear modifications or move out of the area as each temporary rule was in effect.
NMFS also required that no additional gear be set in the DAM zone during the 15-day period unless that gear had been modified.
Gear modifications required in the DAM zones included a prohibition on the use of floating groundlines and buoy lines in which the use of floating rope could not exceed one-third of the overall length and was limited to the bottom portion.
Whale calf mortality
The death of a northern right whale calf discovered off Florida on Jan. 22 prompted NMFS to prohibit all gillnet fishing off Georgia and northeast Florida through the end of March.
An examination led scientists to conclude that the 18' calf died as “the result of entanglement by gillnet gear,” NMFS said in a press release.
David Bernhart, NMFS Southeast Region assistant regional administrator, explained that, while no netting was found on the calf, marks on the animal’s body indicated entanglement in monofilament gillnet.
The region’s large-mesh coastal shark fishery was closed as part of existing regulations to protect right whales during the winter breeding season off Florida. Bernhart said the net implicated in the death was most likely smaller mesh – 3"-5" – the kind of commercial fishing gear used by fishermen targeting whiting, bluefish, king mackerel, and other finfish species.
The specific area where the existing and new gillnet closures were in force is called the Southeast US Restricted Area, which extends from Savannah, GA through Sebastian Inlet, FL and out to 80°W longitude. It was established because reproducing female right whales and their calves are frequently seen in the area during the winter months.
The ALWTRP requires NMFS to close the area to any gear type involved in an entanglement.
“We’ve never done this before, but it was not unforeseen,” said Bernhart. “The plan states that if there ever was an interaction it would close. This event has triggered that.”
What happened
According to NMFS, this particular mother and calf pair was first observed during a routine aerial survey on Dec. 30 off St. Catherine’s Island, GA. The pair was sighted three additional times through early January off the northeast Florida and Georgia coasts.
On Jan. 21, the mother was observed alone “exhibiting behavior consistent for an agitated whale.” The next day, recreational boaters called the Coast Guard to report seeing the dead calf approximately one nautical mile from where the mother had been spotted the previous day.
The whale was towed to shore where members of the Marine Mammal Stranding Network performed a “gross examination” of the carcass. The team included scientists from NMFS, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, the University of Florida, and the Virginia Aquarium.
The examination team was not able to determine whether the animal actually died due to drowning, infection, dehydration, or other specific cause. However, NMFS stated that “all available evidence suggests that entanglement and injury by gillnet gear ultimately led to the death of this right whale calf.”
18 right whale births
According to Amy Knowlton of the New England Aquarium, 18 newborn right whale calves had been counted as of Feb. 15. The annual survey to count the new calves concludes at the end of March, and Knowlton said very few new calves are seen after the middle of March.
During last year’s survey, scientists counted 28 mother and calf pairs, which was the second highest in 25 years.
Knowlton was quick to point out that this year’s count of 18 had already been knocked back by deaths.
“Two of those 18 calves have died – one from the gillnet entanglement and the other from a ship strike earlier in January,” she said. “We also have a third calf that appears to have been struck by a vessel.”
That animal was part of the mother-calf pair that was seen in Corpus Christi Bay off the coast of Texas in mid-January. The sighting came as a real surprise to everyone in the right whale study field, Knowlton added, since right whales rarely go into the Gulf of Mexico.
Right whale research
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and NMFS are both making grant money available for right whale research.
The Right Whale Research Program is seeking project proposals that address reducing death and/or serious injuries to right whales due to entanglements in fishing gear or that can provide biological information relevant to the ALWTRP.
The priorities for gear-related research funding will be for projects that: reduce the risk associated with vertical lines and/or lower the profile of groundlines; investigate the profile of gillnet and trap/pot gear in the water column in various habitats and conditions; or develop technology for producing knotless splices.
The priorities for ALWTRP biological needs-related research funding will be for projects that: research the distribution of right whales in the water column throughout US waters; research the temporal and spatial distribution of right whales; research the vertical distributions of prey organisms; develop technical advances for disentanglement, including sedatives and tools; or research the development of long-term tracking tags.
The project proposal deadline is April 5.
For more information, visit <www.nero.noaa.gov/nero/hotnews/whalegrants/index.html>.
Lorelei Stevens
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