Statewide | Mammals
Marine mammal deterrents: Workshops to listen, learn, and build collaboration to reduce marine mammal-fishery conflict Presenter: Kim Raum-Suryan , kim.raum-suryan@noaa.gov, NOAA Fisheries
Kristy Long , kristy.long@noaa.gov, NOAA Fisheries Jean Higgins , jean.higgins@noaa.gov, NOAA Fisheries
Marine mammal-fishery conflicts can cause serious injury and mortality to marine mammals and significant economic and time loss to fishermen. The Marine Mammal Protection Act allows for specified persons to employ measures to deter marine mammals from damaging fishing gear and catch, damaging personal or public property, or endangering personal safety, as long as these measures do not result in death or serious injury of marine mammals. Under a recently proposed rule, NOAA Fisheries developed guidelines for deterring marine mammals under its jurisdiction, and recommended specific measures for species listed under the Endangered Species Act. However, evaluation of the efficacy of each deterrent was beyond the scope of the rulemaking process, and available data on deterrent effectiveness is lacking. To address this knowledge gap, NOAA Fisheries launched a series of virtual workshops in 2022 in Alaska, the Greater Atlantic, and nationally. Objectives of workshops were to 1) foster greater collaboration among NOAA Fisheries, fishermen, and biologists; 2) improve understanding of the overall problem of marine mammal-gear interactions; 3) identify deterrents currently in use, whether effective or not; and 4) brainstorm a list of deterrents to potentially evaluate in the future. To prepare for workshops, a neutral facilitation team conducted confidential pre-workshop phone interviews with fishermen to assess views on marine mammal-fisheries interactions. This early outreach provided an unbiased opportunity to use key findings to help inform the workshop agendas. During each workshop, we had “listening sessions” in which fishermen shared stories about their interactions with marine mammals. During these workshops fishermen shared information about actions they take and ideas that they think might help reduce interactions with certain marine mammals, including: relocate and avoid, patrol and tend gear, make noise, switch gear types, reduce soak time, reduce amount of gear in the water, use pingers, and use the promising and effective targeted acoustic startle technology (TAST) device https://genuswave.com/. Overall outcomes emphasized 1) trust building and collaboration as critical elements to any future success; 2) the importance of involving fishermen in research and creating a forum where they can share their knowledge; and 3) appreciation for these workshops and a willingness to listen to fishermen’s concerns.
Alaska Marine Science Symposium 2023 236
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