Estimates of cetacean and pinniped bycatch in the 2014 New England sink and mid-Atlantic gillnet fisheries

• Main Authors: Hatch, Joshua M., Orphanides, Christopher
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service, Northeast Fisheries Science Center 2016
• Subjects: Gillnetting > Bycatches > Atlantic Coast U.S. > Observations.; harbor seal; Pagophilus groenlandicus; Phoca vitulina; Phocoena phocoena
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.7289/v50863bv; https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/11986

This report provides estimated bycatch of 6 species of small cetaceans and pinnipeds bycaught in the New England sink (NESG) and mid-Atlantic (MAG) gillnet fisheries. The 2014 serious injuries and total mortalities in the NESG fishery were 128 (coefficient of variation [CV] = 0.27) harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena), 111 (CV = 0.47) short-beaked common dolphins (Delphinus delphis), 10 (CV = 0.66) Atlantic white-sided dolphins (Lagenorhynchus acutus), 917 (CV = 0.14) gray seals (Halichoerus grypus), 390 (CV = 0.39) harbor seals (Phoca vitulina concolor), and 57 (CV = 0.42) harp seals (Pagophilus groenlandicus). The NESG estimates are based on observed bycatch consisting of 28 harbor porpoises, 11 short-beaked common dolphins, 2 Atlantic white-sided dolphins, 159 gray seals, 59 harbor seals, and 9 harp seals. The 2014 serious injuries and total mortalities in the MAG fishery were 22 (CV = 1.03) harbor porpoises, 17 (CV = 0.86) short-beaked common dolphins, 19 (CV = 1.06) harbor seals, and 22 (CV = 1.09) gray seals. The MAG estimates are based on observed bycatch consisting of 1 harbor porpoise, short-beaked common dolphin, harbor seal, and gray seal.