Commission Newsletter • Spring 2019

For about 1 penny per American per year, the Marine Mammal Commission has met its Congressional mandate to conserve marine mammals for over 40 years.  We work to ensure that marine mammal populations are restored and maintained as functioning elements of healthy marine ecosystems in the world's oceans.

The Marine Mammal Commission’s 2019 Annual Meeting: Kona, Hawaii A Hawaiian monk seal in Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. (Credit: NOAA) Each year, the Marine Mammal Commission holds its annual meeting in a different region of the country to examine regional issues, as well as priority topics at the national and global levels. We hope you can join us at the Marine Mammal Commission’s 2019 Annual Meeting from May 21-23 in Kona, Hawaii. At our annual meeting, which is open to the public, we will engage with other federal agencies, stakeholders, and interested members of the public on the science, policy, and management issues related to the Hawaiian Islands and the wider Pacific region. Some specific examples include discussion of: human interactions with spinner dolphins, conservation of Hawaiian monk seals, impact of bycatch on false killer whales and other odontocetes, and the status of the humpback whale population around the Hawaiian Islands and Southeast Alaska. A new draft agenda of the meeting and details on the meeting venue are available on our website, webinar details to be posted soon (no registration required) .

Vaquita Conservation Overshadowed by Continued Illegal Totoaba Fishing Efforts to protect the habitat of the few remaining vaquitas in the Upper Gulf of California, Mexico by preventing illegal fishing and removing illegal gillnets set for totoaba have been increasingly marred by violence. An adult female vaquita was found dead in a totoaba fishing net in March. In January, fishermen attacked a Sea Shepherd vessel which was working in partnership with Mexican authorities to find and retrieve totoaba gillnets, and, in a more recent episode, at-sea violence continued on land as fishermen set fire to a lot where confiscated nets and boats were impounded and stole back many recently confiscated gillnets. Poachers prize totoaba for their swim bladders, which are dried and smuggled by organized crime cartels to China and sold on the black market for prices that can reach $46,000 USD per kg. Despite this violence, the number of illegal nets recovered from early December to the end of March by the net retrieval teams remained high (154). The Vaquita recovery team ( CIRVA 11 ) met in February 2019 and called on the Mexican government to fully fund and expand net removal efforts and to maintain a “Zero-tolerance Area” where the last few vaquitas remain as a net-free zone. There is some evidence that fishermen are respecting this area.

The sighting of this vaquita mother with her calf in 2018 demonstrated that vaquitas can give birth annually. Photo by Oscar Ortiz, Museo de la Ballena y Ciencias del Mar , 26 September 2018.

New Faces at the Commission

Brady O’Donnell, Communications Officer We are excited to welcomeBrady O’Donnell as the Marine Mammal Commission’s new Communications Officer. Brady served the Commission as a 2018 Knauss Marine Policy Fellow through the NOAA Sea Grant program, prior to moving into his new position. He received his Master’s degree from the University of California, Davis where his research focused on coastal biogeochemistry. While in graduate school, Brady pursued science-policy opportunities including an internship at the NOAA West Coast Regional Office, research with Point Blue Conservation Science, and social media development for the Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary. As the Communications Officer, Brady will continue to further the Commission’s mission by strengthening the agency’s external communications, legislative affairs, and media management.  Roxanne J Carini, 2019 Knauss Fellow Roxanne Carini joins the Commission as a 2019 Knauss Marine Policy Fellow through the NOAA Sea Grant program. She earned her PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering earlier this year from the University of Washington in Seattle. Her research, based at the Applied Physics Laboratory, used remote sensing technologies to observe and quantify breaking waves in the surf zone to better understand how wave forces change the coastal environment. Additionally, Roxanne pursued formal science communication training and became a lead facilitator for science communication workshops on campus. At the Commission, Roxanne will engage her research skills, expertise in physical oceanography, and passion for translating science for a non-expert audience to help advance the Commission’s goals under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, working broadly on science, policy, and communications issues.

Commission Representation at ICMMPA

Marine Mammal Commissioner Frances Gulland, staff member Dennis Heinemann, and our Scientific Advisor Jason Baker.

In April, Commissioner Frances Gulland, Scientific Advisor Jason Baker, and our Senior Adviser for Fisheries Policy and Ecology Dennis Heinemann joined 150 marine mammologists and protected area specialists from all over the world for the 5 th  Conference of the International Committee on Marine Mammal Protected Areas (ICMMPA) in Messinia, Greece. Participants evaluated the challenges of achieving effective place-based protection and management for marine mammals and discussed the path forward for Marine Mammal Protected Areas (MMPAs) over the next decade. Sixteen panel discussions and workshops covered a diverse set of topics. Attendees grappled with MMPAs as a tool to reduce ship strikes of sperm whales in Greek waters and heard how the illegal quest for fish swim bladders is pushing the vaquita to extinction within a long-established UNESCO World Heritage site (see vaquita article above). Baker discussed how lessons from the Hawaiian monk seal experience can be translated to Mediterranean monk seal conservation and the development of a new Rare Pinniped Conservation Network (RAPCON) under the aegis of the Commission. Summaries of the discussions and workshops will be posted on the conference web site within the next two months.

Hot Topics in Marine Mammal Conservation: Encounter Rates and Body Condition of Hawaiian Humpback Whales  Linking changing ocean climate to observed marine mammal health or population shifts is a challenging but important endeavor in today’s world of marine mammal conservation. In a recently published study of Hawaii humpback whales, Cartwright et al. report a 76.5% decrease in mother-calf encounter rates from 2013 to 2018. Since sufficient stored energy is required for reproduction and nursing, one likely reason for declining reproductive rates is food scarcity. Hawaii humpbacks migrate to Southeast Alaska to feed, and in 2014-2015 three compounding climatic events produced unusually warm water in the Gulf of Alaska, decreasing the quality and abundance of humpback prey. Since then, numerous “abnormally thin” whales have been observed in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve (GBNPP) and Icy Strait , a primary feeding ground for the Hawaii humpbacks. Additionally, between 2013 and 2018, the number of individual whales encountered per survey-hour in GBNPP and Icy Strait decreased by 51%, and no mother-calf pairs were confirmed in 2018. The Hawaii humpbacks were delisted under the Endangered Species Act in September 2016, when the species-wide classification was replaced by fourteen distinct population segments. However, recent evidence may warrant a review of the population status, and further research is necessary to confirm trends and causes. For a more complete discussion of Hawaii humpbacks, join us in-person or online at the Marine Mammal Commission’s Annual Meeting in Kona, Hawaii May 21-23.

A humpback whale and her calf (NOAA's Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary).

Gulf of Mexico Bryde’s Whale Listed as Endangered

We commend the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) for its issuance of a final rule to   list the Gulf of Mexico Bryde’s whale as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.   The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill had a significant impact on Bryde’s whales, which are the only baleen whale to inhabit the Gulf year-round. The population is estimated at 33 individuals and occurs off Florida in an area south of DeSoto Canyon along the continental shelf break, in waters between 100-400 m deep. In addition to oil spills, other threats to Bryde’s whales in the Gulf include energy exploration and development, vessel strikes, fishery gear entanglements, military activities, and more. The next step in the listing process is the designation of critical habitat ( above photo is a map of the current biologically important area from LeBrecque et al. 2015 ). NMFS is currently working with scientists at the Florida International University and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography on a RESTORE Act   project evaluating “ Trophic Interactions and Habitat Requirements of the Gulf of Mexico Bryde’s Whales .” The Commission is serving as one of two technical monitors for that project, which involves at-sea cruises to observe and record feeding behavior, vocalizations, and prey species. Please visit our   website   for more information.

Gulf of Mexico Bryde's whale photographed by James Cotton of NOAA SWFSC.

Marine Mammal Commission scientific advisors, staff, and science in the news

Commission-affiliated scientists have been featured in a variety of media publications over the last few months, while sharing their expertise on a variety of topics. For a reminder of who our Commissioners, Committee of Scientific Advisors, and Staff are, visit our website .  Some of the ongoing scientific accomplishments of these world-renowned marine mammal scientists are reflected below in newspapers, magazines, and more! Sea Lions, Cancer, and Human Connections – Dr. Gulland Commission Special Advisor Metcalf Inducted into Alaska Women’s Hall of Fame - Ms. Metcalf Monitoring Gray Whale Sightings and Strandings – Dr. Gulland Florida’s Red Tide Still Impacting Dolphins – Dr. Wells Vaquita Included in Reflection on Wildlife Capture – Dr. Gulland Bowhead Whale in Gulf of Maine – Dr. Reeves

A bowhead (upper right), sei (center), and North Atlantic right whale feeding in 2017 (NOAA NEFSC Permit #17355).

Thank you for your continued support! We are committed to our mission under the Marine Mammal Protection Act and continue to work tirelessly on the responsible management of our shared marine resources. In the Federal Budget for fiscal year 2019, passed by Congress on February 25, the Marine Mammal Commission was funded at $3.516 million, a 2.5% increase from the levels of FY16, FY17, and FY18. The Commission appreciates the support received for the work that we have carried out over the past four decades. See our Chairman’s message for more details about the Commission’s status in the proposed budget for FY2020.

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