Assessing changes in numbers and distribution of large whale entanglements in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

Entanglements of large whales in commercial fisheries in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, have been consistently recorded since 1979, as part of a program aimed at releasing captured animals and reducing costs to fishermen. This data set represented an opportunity to identify fisheries posing particular entanglement risks to local whale populations. Data were assessed over the periods 1979–1992 and 1993–2008, corresponding to distinct phases in fisheries distribution and intensity. Between 1979 and 2008, 1,209 large whale entanglements were recorded in Newfoundland and Labrador. These were mostly humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae; 80%) and minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata; 15%). Dramatic declines in reported inshore whale entanglement rates were observed following the 1992 moratorium on Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) fisheries. Recently, more entanglements have been reported further offshore, largely due to expansion of fisheries targeting snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio). For all whale species, entanglement 1 This article is dedicated to Dr. Jon Lien (1939–2010), who was instrumental in setting up the Large Whale Entrapment Program through Memorial University’s Whale Research Group, and who for more than 30 yr worked tirelessly on behalf of both whales and fishermen in Newfoundland and Labrador. A large proportion of the data described here was gathered by Jon and his associates, and his role in resolving whale entanglements in Newfoundland fisheries cannot be overstated. He will be sorely missed.

[1]  J. Robbins,et al.  FISHING GEAR INVOLVED IN ENTANGLEMENTS OF RIGHT AND HUMPBACK WHALES , 2005 .

[2]  As a complement to the economic analysis, the social impact assessment (SIA) examines the social and cultural consequences of the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan , 2005 .

[3]  R. Kastelein,et al.  Entanglement of Harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) in fishing nets , 1995 .

[4]  H. Akaike,et al.  Information Theory and an Extension of the Maximum Likelihood Principle , 1973 .

[5]  W. Au,et al.  Harbour porpoises : laboratory studies to reduce bycatch , 1995 .

[6]  Z. Kim,et al.  Fishing gears involved in entanglements of minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) in the East Sea of Korea , 2010 .

[7]  J. Durbin,et al.  Testing for serial correlation in least squares regression. II. , 1950, Biometrika.

[8]  W. Schrank.  The Newfoundland fishery: ten years after the moratorium , 2005 .

[9]  Simon Northridge,et al.  Bycatch of Marine Mammals in U.S. and Global Fisheries , 2006, Conservation biology : the journal of the Society for Conservation Biology.

[10]  R. Myers,et al.  The biological collapse of Atlantic cod off Newfoundland and Labrador: An exploration of historical changes in exploitation, harvesting technology, and management , 1995 .

[11]  Hal Whitehead,et al.  The significance of the Southeast Shoal of the Grand Bank to humpback whales and other cetacean species , 1985 .

[12]  Yulia V. Ivashchenko,et al.  Anthropogenic scarring of western gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) , 2009 .

[13]  T. Cole,et al.  Mortality and serious injury determinations for baleen whale stocks along the United States and Canadian eastern seaboards, 2004-2008 , 2010 .

[14]  C. Ramp,et al.  Decreased feeding ability of a minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) with entanglement‐like injuries , 2009 .

[15]  W. H. Lear,et al.  History of Fisheries in the Northwest Atlantic: The 500-Year Perspective , 1998 .

[16]  Pingguo He,et al.  Large‐Scale Fish Traps: Gear Design, Fish Behavior, and Conservation Challenges , 2010 .

[17]  MINKE WHALE (Balaenoptera acutorostrata): Canadian East Coast Stock , 2007 .

[18]  Tim D. Smith,et al.  North Atlantic humpback whale abundance and rate of increase four decades after protection from whaling , 2003 .

[19]  C. J. Camphuysen,et al.  The impacts of fishing on marine birds , 2000 .

[20]  J. Straley,et al.  Non‐lethal entanglement of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in fishing gear in northern Southeast Alaska , 2009 .

[21]  Scott D. Kraus,et al.  The impact of entanglements on two substocks of the western North Atlantic humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae , 1995 .

[22]  Ransom A. Myers,et al.  What can be learned from the collapse of a renewable resource? Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua, of Newfoundland and Labrador , 1994 .

[23]  Y. Maho,et al.  Endangered species: Where leatherback turtles meet fisheries , 2004, Nature.

[24]  Ransom A. Myers,et al.  Collapse and Conservation of Shark Populations in the Northwest Atlantic , 2003, Science.

[25]  J. Simon,et al.  Recent excursions of capelin (Mallotus villosus) to the Scotian Shelf and Flemish Cap during anomalous hydrographic conditions , 1996 .

[26]  W. McLellan,et al.  Morphometry, gross morphology and available histopathology in North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) mortalities (1970-2002) , 2023, J. Cetacean Res. Manage..