Towards an EU Action Plan on Cetacean Bycatch

Dolman, Sarah J.; Baulch, Sarah; Evans, Peter G. H.; Read, F.L.; Ritter, Fabian

doi:10.1016/j.marpol.2016.06.020

Cited by 22 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…Explicit policy decisions and rigorous implementation are urgently needed to bridge the gap between our poor understanding and the reality of what is happening at sea ( 12 ). Political motivation and transparent consideration of the sub-lethal costs of bycatch and entanglement in decision making are essential.…”

Section: Conclusion and Recommendationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Commercial scale fishing is the last human activity targeting wildlife (fish) where slaughter includes incidental take of other large sapient wildlife on such a regular basis and on this scale. Yet, there have been insufficient changes in fisheries management practices and, in general, inadequate effort to reduce the numbers of cetaceans caught in nets generally [for example, ( 10 – 12 )].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sustainable Fisheries Management and the Welfare of Bycaught and Entangled Cetaceans

Dolman¹,

Brakes

2018

Front. Vet. Sci.

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The incidental capture of cetaceans and other protected marine wildlife in fishing gear has significant welfare implications. Many thousands of cetaceans are bycaught in fishing gear in European waters and hundreds of thousands die globally. We can expect many more to survive, but suffer from such interactions. As marine policy focuses on “population level” impact assessments and “sustainability” of fishing to preserve fish populations, the impacts to the bycaught individual, and their wider social group, are often largely underestimated, despite the large numbers affected. The wide range of recorded injuries, including abrasions, cuts, bruising, and broken bones, along with the potential for panic associated with forced submersion, indicate that the welfare of bycaught cetaceans is, individually and collectively, very poor. Commercial fishing is the last human activity targeting wildlife (fish) on a grand scale where slaughter includes incidental killing of other large sapient wildlife on such a regular basis. Here, we review the compelling evidence of the short and long term welfare impacts of bycatch, and the progress made toward implementation of measures to understand and solve this significant welfare issue. We argue that policy decisions surrounding fishing do not adequately consider cetacean bycatch, including welfare impacts. Ultimately, there are welfare issues in all bycatch situations and suffering cannot plausibly be reduced without preventing bycatch. The well-documented welfare implications provide a strong argument for zero tolerance of cetacean bycatch and provide a compelling case for immediate action in fisheries where bycatch is taking place. The only way to reduce the suffering of bycaught cetaceans is to decrease, or ideally eliminate, the number of animals caught in fishing gear. Uncertainties around the scale of bycatch should not delay management, even where individual bycatch estimates are considered “sustainable.” Lack of monitoring of sub-lethal impacts on populations may result in flawed impact assessments. We urge that animal welfare considerations should become an integral part of management decision-making in relation to bycatch globally. Enhanced, robust and transparent management systems are urgently required for the range of fisheries within which cetacean bycatch occurs, with the aim to better document and most importantly, work toward eliminating cetacean bycatch altogether.

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Section: Conclusion and Recommendationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainable Fisheries Management and the Welfare of Bycaught and Entangled Cetaceans

Dolman¹,

Brakes

2018

Front. Vet. Sci.

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“…Despite new technologies and industry recognition of the problem, monitoring and management can be costly and ineffective (Dolman et al. ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cost‐effective mitigation strategies to reduce bycatch threats to cetaceans identified using return‐on‐investment analysis

Tulloch

Grech

Jonsen

et al. 2019

Conservation Biology

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Globally, fisheries bycatch threatens the survival of many whale and dolphin species. Strategies for reducing bycatch can be expensive. Management is inclined to prioritize investment in actions that are inexpensive, but these may not be the most effective. We used an economic tool, return-on-investment, to identify cost-effective measures to reduce cetacean bycatch in the trawl, net, and line fisheries of Australia. We examined 3 management actions: spatial closures, acoustic deterrents, and gear modifications. We compared an approach for which the primary goal was to reduce the cost of bycatch reduction to fisheries with an approach that aims solely to protect whale and dolphin species. Based on cost-effectiveness and at a fine spatial resolution, we identified the management strategies across Australia that most effectively abated dolphin and whale bycatch. Although trawl-net modifications were the cheapest strategy overall, there were many locations where spatial closures were the most cost-effective solution, despite their high costs to fisheries, due to their effectiveness in reducing all fisheries interactions. Our method can be used to delineate strategies to reduce bycatch threats to mobile marine species across diverse fisheries at relevant spatial scales to improve conservation outcomes.

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“…Studying mortality events is of critical importance due to their potentially disproportionate impact on population abundance (Chambert et al, 2012;Denny, Hunt, Miller, & Harley, 2009;Fey et al, 2015;Gross, Mittelbach, & Reynolds, 2005), and in the case of top predators, on ecosystems (Sergio et al, 2008). Small cetaceans face many pressures (Bossart, 2011;Burek, Gulland, & O'Hara, 2008;Gulland & Hall, 2007;Pierce et al, 2008), including bycatch by fisheries (Dolman, Baulch, Evans, Read, & Ritter, 2016;Read, Drinker, & Northridge, 2006;Reeves, McClellan, & Werner, 2013). High levels of additional induced mortality can disrupt population dynamics and even lead to species extinction (Taylor et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A risk‐based forecast of extreme mortality events in small cetaceans: Using stranding data to inform conservation practice

Bouchard

Bracken

Dabin

et al. 2019

CONSERVATION LETTERS

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Effective conservation requires monitoring and pro‐active risk assessments. We studied the effects of at‐sea mortality events (ASMEs) in marine mammals over two decades (1990–2012) and built a risk‐based indicator for the European Union's Marine Strategy Framework Directive. Strandings of harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena), short‐beaked common dolphins (Delphinus delphis), and striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) along French coastlines were analyzed using Extreme Value Theory (EVT). EVT operationalizes what is an extreme ASME, and allows the probabilistic forecasting of the expected maximum number of dead animals assuming constant pressures. For the period 2013–2018, we forecast the strandings of 80 harbor porpoises, 860 common dolphins, and 57 striped dolphins in extreme ASMEs. Comparison of these forecasts with observed strandings informs whether pressures are increasing, decreasing, or stable. Applying probabilistic methods to stranding data facilitates the building of risk‐based indicators, required under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, to monitor the effect of pressures on marine mammals.

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Towards an EU Action Plan on Cetacean Bycatch

Cited by 22 publications

References 36 publications

Sustainable Fisheries Management and the Welfare of Bycaught and Entangled Cetaceans

Sustainable Fisheries Management and the Welfare of Bycaught and Entangled Cetaceans

Cost‐effective mitigation strategies to reduce bycatch threats to cetaceans identified using return‐on‐investment analysis

A risk‐based forecast of extreme mortality events in small cetaceans: Using stranding data to inform conservation practice

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