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Mortality and serious injury determinations for baleen whale stocks along the United States and Canadian eastern seaboards, 2004-2008
Baleen whale stocks along the United States and Canadian eastern seaboards, 2004-2008
Northeast Fisheries Science Center (U.S.)
"The Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) has developed criteria to evaluate reports of human-caused injury and mortality to large whales. The criteria minimize the identification of false positive human-caused mortalities and serious injuries and therefore provide a minimum value of human impact to whale stocks. Serious injury is defined as an injury that is likely to lead to death. This report describes determinations made for reports received from 2004 - 2008 involving North Atlantic right (Eubalaena glacialis), humpback (Megaptera novaeangliae), fin (Balaenoptera physalus), sei (B. borealis), blue (B. musculus), minke (B. acutorostrata), and Bryde's (B. edeni) whales observed along the eastern seaboard of the United States and adjacent Canadian Maritimes. A total of 539 unique large whale events were verified during the period, including carcasses (both beached and at-sea) and live whales. We confirmed 188 unique entanglement, 57 ship strike, and 330 mortality events. Twenty-four (13%) of the entanglements and 30 (53%) of the ship strikes were fatal. Serious injury was sustained in 18 (10%) of the entanglement events and in 2 (4%) of the confirmed ship strikes. Thirty-three (18%) of the entanglements and six (11%) of the ship strike events did not have adequate documentation to determine if serious injury occurred. Seventy-nine (42%) of the entanglement events and 15 (26%) of the ship strike events were determined to have not caused serious injury or death. Of the 330 confirmed mortalities, 256 (78%) lacked sufficient evidence to determine cause of death. Minke whales had the greatest number of entanglement mortalities (n=11); humpback whales had the highest number of serious injury events resulting from entanglements (n=11); fin whales had the greatest number of ship strike mortalities (n=10); and right whales had the only serious injuries (n=2) from ship strikes. These mortality and serious injury numbers are minimum counts because of poor detection probabilities and inadequate documentation. Thus, the true level of human impact to these stocks is assumed to be greater than that reported here, however the amount greater is unknown."
by Allison H. Glass, Timothy V.N. Cole, Mendy Garron.
Title from title screen (viewed on May 12, 2010).
"Print publication date March 2010; web version posted May 12, 2010"--Publication's home page: http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/publications/tm/tm214/#ab.
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Includes bibliographical references (page 6).