Interactions between marine mammals and deep water trawlers in the NAFO Regulatory Area

• Main Author: Lens, Santiago
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: 1997
• Subjects: Incidental catches; Medio Marino; Centro Oceanográfico de Vigo; Marine mammals; NAFO; Trawlers; Greenland; North Atlantic
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10508/8728; http://hdl.handle.net/10261/323223

Starting in 1990, a deep water trawl fishery for Gr enland halibut in the NAFO Regulatory Area was developed by Spain. At the same time an observer's program to collect infonnation about the fishery was put in operation. In 1993 and! 1994 the observers collected infonnation on sightings and incidental catches of marine 1 s. The observers made 264 sightings ofmarine s, belonging to 10 cetaceans and 3 pinnipeds species, with the sperm whales, the nort ern bottlenose whale, the pilot whales and the harp seals among the mdst frequently observed species. Infonnation about fishing operations and their interactions with marine marnmals was obtained in more than 14 000 individual hauls. Their presenfe in the nets was recorded on 57 occasions. Incidental catches didn't occur in 46 ofthe 74 :fis~g trips observed. The majority ofthe remaining 37.8% trips registered one catch (n=l9~.~d only on a few trips were there more than one. The rate of sets with incidental catches 9ver the the total number of sets observed was 0.31 %. A mortality of 42 specimens is reported, belonging to four cetacean species (Atlantic white-sided dolphin, striped dolphin, common dolphin and long-finned pilot whale) four pinnipeds species (harbour, harp, ringed and grey seals) and unidenti:fied cetacean and pinnipeds species. The rate ofsets with mortality was 0.27 %. The 73 .8% ofthis mortality corresponds to the seals.The data obtained were compared with the information available from similar fisheries, it being estimated that the Greenland halibut fishery has a relatively low level of interactions and marine mammal mortality.