Report of the Working Group on Marine Mammal Ecology (WGMME), 10–13 March 2014, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA:ICES CM 2014/ACOM:27

• Main Authors: Benjamins, Steven, Greenhill, Lucy, Risch, Denise, Wilson, Ben
• Format: Book Part
• Language: English
• Published: International Council for Exploration of the Sea 2014
• Subjects: marine mammals; cetaceans; seals; population structure; abundance; management unit; Bycatch; Joint Cetacean Protocol; reporting; survey design; Monitoring; Harbour porpoise; North Atlantic; North Atlantic right whale
• Online Access: https://pure.uhi.ac.uk/en/publications/ac1669f7-ab4a-4beb-ae16-3f34befe145a; https://pureadmin.uhi.ac.uk/ws/files/3673964/wgmme_2014.pdf; http://www.ices.dk/sites/pub/Publication%20Reports/Expert%20Group%20Report/acom/2014/WGMME/wgmme_2014.pdf

The Working Group on Marine Mammal Ecology (WGMME) met at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), Quissett Campus, Massachusetts, USA from 10–13 March 2014 to consider the majority of the Terms of Reference. Eunice Pinn chaired the meeting of 30 participants, representing nine countries. A satellite meeting was held in Oban, Scotland, UK from 11 March to 13 March 2014 specifically to consider the Term of Reference on monitoring for renewable installations. This was chaired by Steven Benjamins and had a further six participants. During plenary, the two meetings were linked through video skype. Eight ToRs were address, two of which were special requests from OSPAR. The first reviewed new information on population sizes and population/stock structure for marine mammals in European waters, whilst the second reviewed similar information as well as work on the incidental capture of marine mammals in the western North Atlantic (the latter specifically covering North Atlantic right whale, harbour porpoise and white-sided dolphin). The third ToR reviewed the further development of the Bycatch Limit Algorithm framework for determining safe bycatch limits and included a comparison with approaches used to assess bycatch in USA. The fourth ToR, to review the applicability of the Joint Cetacean Protocol (JCP) for European reporting requirements such as Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) and the Habitats Directive, could not be fully addressed due to continuing delays in the publication of the JCP. The fifth ToR reviewed the development of database for seals and its potential contribution to the operationalization of MSFD indicators. The sixth ToR reviewed approaches to marine mammal survey design used during pre-consent data gathering and post-consent monitoring in the offshore marine renewables (wind, wave, tide) industry. The seventh and eighth ToRs addressed two special requests from OSPAR. The first on interactions between aquaculture and marine mammals, including the identification of the pressures and ...