Active Forum Topics

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. – The persistent, ongoing problem of fishing lines and gear ensnarling whales and other marine mammals has been a major threat worldwide to their survival and recovery from life-threatening injuries for many years and without any definitive solution that is effective and practical for the fishing industry.

FAO Workshop on Means and Methods for Reducing Marine Mammal Mortality in Fishing and Aquaculture Operations

Rome, Italy

Fisheries bycatch is the principal threat to many marine mammals. In some cases, bycatch reduction devices have been shown to mitigate the bycatch of non-target species, but the scale of the problem outpaces progress in finding solutions.

Mortality from longline bycatch threatens marine mammal species and populations such as the false killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens) in the insular Hawaiian Islands, and Risso's dolphin (Grampus griseus) and pilot whales (Globicephala spp.) in the Northwest Atlantic. Fishermen also lose valuable target catch due to marine mammal depredation, and as a result, may face fishing restrictions that affect their bottom line. 

Fishing is an important economic mainstay of New England, and part of its cultural heritage. North Atlantic right whales are a critical natural component of the region’s coastal waters. Where the two meet entanglements happen, mainly as whales become wrapped in buoy ropes used to locate and haul pots resting on the seafloor.

This workshop presents information to fishery representatives in Latin America that will help them enter the certification process. For those that may have an issue with bycatch, the Global Bycatch Exchange can be a useful resource that presents information and potential solutions. This workshop gives an opportunity for fishery representatives to give feedback on what will make this tool more useful and user-friendly.

The Ropeless Consortium's 2018 annual meeting is on November 6, 2018. Check here for more information and a link to presentations. 

The North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium's 2018 annual meeting is November 7-8, 2018. At this meeting, various stakeholders convene to discuss and share research, new techniques, management strategies, and other facets of right whale conservation. This is the only opportunity for this gathering and sharing of information and so is invaluable to the conservation of the species. For more information, visit www.narwc.org.

Session Title: Sustainability in Crisis - Science, Industry and Government Protect Right Whales and Fishing Livelihoods

The Ropeless Consortium's 2019 annual meeting is on November 13, 2019. Check here for more information. 

The United Nations’ Food and Agricultural Organization convened experts, including Consortium scientists, to produce technical guidelines on how to best prevent and mitigate marine mammal bycatch in fisheries. The draft report was reviewed and adopted by participants at the FAO “Expert meeting on the development of technical guidelines to reduce bycatch of marine mammals in fisheries”, on 17-19 September 2019 in Rome, Italy.

The North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium's 2019 annual meeting is November 14-15, 2019. At this meeting, various stakeholders convene to discuss and share research, new techniques, management strategies, and other facets of right whale conservation. This is the only opportunity for this gathering and sharing of information and so is invaluable to the conservation of the species. For more information, visit www.narwc.org.

The Society for Marine Mammalogy holds regular, biennial, international meetings to enhance collaboration, share ideas, and improve the quality of research on marine mammals within the scientific community. The 2019 biennial meeting will be held jointly with the European Cetacean Society in a World Marine Mammal Science Conference. This conference will be held in Barcelona, Spain and brings together leaders in the field from all over the world, enabling discussion among scientists, policy makers, and other stakeholders to foster international partnerships and collaborations.

Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada is holding a Gear Innovation Summit in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on February 11-12, 2020 to explore options for making fishing gear safer for whales, and to find innovative ways to prevent, retrieve and recycle lost or discarded fishing gear, or ghost gear.