scholarly journals Body condition changes arising from natural factors and fishing gear entanglements in North Atlantic right whales Eubalaena glacialis

2017 ◽  
Vol 32 ◽  
pp. 237-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
HM Pettis ◽  
RM Rolland ◽  
PK Hamilton ◽  
AR Knowlton ◽  
EA Burgess ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Condition ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Eubalaena Glacialis ◽  
Fishing Gear ◽  
Natural Factors ◽  
Right Whales ◽  
North Atlantic Right Whales

Fishing-gear threat to right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) in Canadian waters and the risk of lethal entanglement

2011 ◽  
Vol 68 (12) ◽  
pp. 2174-2193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angelia S.M. Vanderlaan ◽  
R. Kent Smedbol ◽  
Christopher T. Taggart
Keyword(s):  
Relative Risk ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Eubalaena Glacialis ◽  
Bay Of Fundy ◽  
Commercial Fishing ◽  
Fishing Gear ◽  
Critical Habitat ◽  
North Atlantic Right Whale ◽  
Right Whale ◽  
Right Whales

Commercial fishing gear can potentially entangle any whale, and this is especially true for the endangered North Atlantic right whale ( Eubalaena glacialis ), for which entanglement is second only to vessel strike as being responsible for documented right whale deaths. We use right whale survey data and Canadian fishing-gear deployment data to estimate the relative threat of gear entanglement in a Scotia–Fundy study area and the relative risk of lethal entanglement in the Bay of Fundy and on Roseway Basin, Scotian Shelf, where Critical Habitat has been legislated. We focus on groundfish and pelagic hook-and-line; groundfish gillnet; and crab-, hagfish-, and inshore and offshore lobster-trap gear. Our analyses demonstrate that groundfish hook-and-line gear poses the greatest threat to right whales among the seven gear types analysed during the summer-resident period in Critical Habitat and that gear from the lobster fisheries poses the greatest threat during the spring and autumn periods when whales are migrating to and from Critical Habitat. We suggest that area-specific seasonal closures of some fisheries would reduce threat and risk to whales without unduly compromising fishing interests.

scholarly journals Sedation at Sea of Entangled North Atlantic Right Whales (Eubalaena glacialis) to Enhance Disentanglement

PLoS ONE ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. e9597 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Moore ◽  
Michael Walsh ◽  
James Bailey ◽  
David Brunson ◽  
Frances Gulland ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
Eubalaena Glacialis ◽  
Right Whales ◽  
North Atlantic Right Whales

Visual health assessment of North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) using photographs

2004 ◽  
Vol 82 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather M Pettis ◽  
Rosalind M Rolland ◽  
Philip K Hamilton ◽  
Solange Brault ◽  
Amy R Knowlton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Condition ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Health Assessment ◽  
Skin Condition ◽  
Assessment Method ◽  
Physical Parameters ◽  
Eubalaena Glacialis ◽  
Health Trends ◽  
Right Whale ◽  
Right Whales

Although trends in reproduction, mortality, and entanglement events have been analyzed for the endangered North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) population, no method has been available to assess individual right whale health. Here, we describe a technique for assessing health based on evaluation of selected physical parameters from archived photographs of right whales. A scoring system was developed to assess body and skin condition, blowhole cyamids, and rake marks in over 200 000 photographs. Comparison of body condition scores of females during calving and noncalving years found that females were significantly thinner in calving years and in the year after calving compared with the year before calving, showing that changes in body condition known to occur during the reproductive cycle can be successfully evaluated from photographs. Comparison of scores for all parameters between living whales and whales with more than a 5-year gap in sighting history ("presumed dead") found that presumed dead whales received health assessment scores indicating compromised health with body condition emerging as a key visual indicator. This health assessment method provides a new tool to monitor health trends in right whales at individual and population levels and may provide a model for assessments of other well-photographed cetaceans.

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