Erich Hoyt's Blog, page 2
September 30, 2015
Secrets of whales and dolphins revealed
Arguably more than anything else, photo-identification, or ���photo-ID,��� opened the door to our appreciation of whales and dolphins as individuals. WDC researchers and close collaborators have had a key role in the development and use of photo-ID, and it���s still the fundamental tool that we use in our work with North Atlantic right whales off Massachusetts, USA; Risso���s dolphins in Scotland; orcas in Kamchatka, Baird���s beaked whales in the Commander Islands, both in Russia; bottlenose dolphins in Scotland and in South Australia; and humpback whales in various studies in the Atlantic and the Pacific.
Recently I was asked by Hakai Magazine, a new online magazine, to write a story about a legendary conference that helped launch whale photo-ID as the primary tool of whale research, some 40 years ago, and ���where we have got to��� since then.
Where we have got to is that our studies of individual whales and whale families and pods have led now to a consideration of culture and the rights of whales ��� work that is central to what WDC is all about.
I loved researching and writing this story, and it forms part of the background for a new book I���m writing on what we���ve learned from field studies of whales and dolphins.
If you like the story, please share it, and we welcome your comments.
http://www.hakaimagazine.com/article-long/whales-through-new-lens
Recently I was asked by Hakai Magazine, a new online magazine, to write a story about a legendary conference that helped launch whale photo-ID as the primary tool of whale research, some 40 years ago, and ���where we have got to��� since then.
Where we have got to is that our studies of individual whales and whale families and pods have led now to a consideration of culture and the rights of whales ��� work that is central to what WDC is all about.
I loved researching and writing this story, and it forms part of the background for a new book I���m writing on what we���ve learned from field studies of whales and dolphins.
If you like the story, please share it, and we welcome your comments.
http://www.hakaimagazine.com/article-long/whales-through-new-lens
August 14, 2015
More bad news from Russia���Let the orcas be!
There hasn���t been much good news for orcas lately. In Moscow, Russia, earlier this month, the new Mosquarium opened, unveiling its three performing orcas ��� the first time ever that orcas have performed in Russia, and 50 years since the year Namu followed by Shamu, the first SeaWorld killer whale, was captured. Retro or what? Much of the rest of the world has moved on to think about a world beyond keeping whales and dolphins captive. Not Russia. Not now. It���s all guns blazing to make all the same mistakes made years before in other countries. Of course it���s not just Russian aquarium owners and captors, China too is about to open its first performing killer whale show, and Japan aquariums continue to go their own way. There are people opposed to captivity in Russia, China and Japan, but they are not in the majority.
Now this sad news: The Far East Russia Orca Project (FEROP), which I co-direct for WDC, has obtained information that three more killer whales have been captured in the Okhotsk Sea in the Russian Far East. The first one, captured in early July, was transported through Sakhalinsky Bay on July 15, 2015. Since then, two more have been removed from their families from the same area.
Of the three, two have been captured by TINRO, the Russian Pacific Scientific Research Fisheries Center, based in Vladivostok in charge of coordinating fisheries research in the Russian Far East (Pacific) waters. The other one was caught by a local team thought to be hired by either by the White Sphere/White Whale/Aquatoria group of companies or by Primorsky Aquarium in Vladivostok which opens its new facility this autumn and is thought to want to exhibit killer whales.
I have to say that these captures are in direct opposition to expert advice. In October 2013, the world���s killer whale scientists and Russia���s ���State Ecological Expertise��� of marine mammal scientists advised that a zero quota to capture killer whales be given. This advice was refused in 2014. TINRO recommended keeping the quota at 10 as in previous years. We still don���t know population sizes of these killer whale ecotypes and communities in the Okhotsk Sea. If previous killer whale captures that occurred in the US, Canada and other countries are any indication, we may be seeing entire pods and communities being disrupted for decades, or even removed entirely. Attempting to manage whales like fish, TINRO supports the expansion of whale and dolphin captures.
Last year, four orcas were reported captured in the Okhotsk Sea, adding to seven from the previous two years. Of these, seven are estimated to be at Chimelong in China, and three others recently opened up the show at the new Moscow facility called Mosquarium. The location of the remaining orca is unknown.
The quota for the number of orca catches is based on flawed population estimates and does not consider the division of resident and transient ecotypes. Management and enforcement are both inadequate, which is leading to illegal capturing and the hushing up of whale deaths. At last September���s roundtable and subsequent discussions at the "Marine Mammals of Holarctic" conference in St. Petersburg, Russia, it was reported that the representative of TINRO denied all criticisms though he could not clearly answer any of the questions. He claimed that TINRO has no interest in orca capturing. Yet two days after the roundtable, TINRO announced an auction on their website to capture a young killer whale for their own purposes. And now the information, as reported above, is that TINRO has taken two orcas and supported the capture of another by commercial captors. The quota may allow for one more in this subregion, while up to 6 more are in the quota for other subregion in the Okhotsk Sea, although the logistics of capture killer whales in these other areas are much more difficult than Sakhalinsky Bay.
I am disturbed by the lack of transparent reporting about the captures. The first capture in 2004 had two mortalities of young females. We have no idea how many other killer whales may be dying in the process of these captures that have occurred over the past three years.
The captures are disappointing. The failure of management is disappointing. The lack of transparency speaks volumes. On the plus side, many Russian scientists are asking questions and demanding answers. But the answers are in short supply.
For more information on past captures in Russia, go to: http://bit.ly/1DPkxOH
�� Erich Hoyt 2015
Now this sad news: The Far East Russia Orca Project (FEROP), which I co-direct for WDC, has obtained information that three more killer whales have been captured in the Okhotsk Sea in the Russian Far East. The first one, captured in early July, was transported through Sakhalinsky Bay on July 15, 2015. Since then, two more have been removed from their families from the same area.
Of the three, two have been captured by TINRO, the Russian Pacific Scientific Research Fisheries Center, based in Vladivostok in charge of coordinating fisheries research in the Russian Far East (Pacific) waters. The other one was caught by a local team thought to be hired by either by the White Sphere/White Whale/Aquatoria group of companies or by Primorsky Aquarium in Vladivostok which opens its new facility this autumn and is thought to want to exhibit killer whales.
I have to say that these captures are in direct opposition to expert advice. In October 2013, the world���s killer whale scientists and Russia���s ���State Ecological Expertise��� of marine mammal scientists advised that a zero quota to capture killer whales be given. This advice was refused in 2014. TINRO recommended keeping the quota at 10 as in previous years. We still don���t know population sizes of these killer whale ecotypes and communities in the Okhotsk Sea. If previous killer whale captures that occurred in the US, Canada and other countries are any indication, we may be seeing entire pods and communities being disrupted for decades, or even removed entirely. Attempting to manage whales like fish, TINRO supports the expansion of whale and dolphin captures.
Last year, four orcas were reported captured in the Okhotsk Sea, adding to seven from the previous two years. Of these, seven are estimated to be at Chimelong in China, and three others recently opened up the show at the new Moscow facility called Mosquarium. The location of the remaining orca is unknown.
The quota for the number of orca catches is based on flawed population estimates and does not consider the division of resident and transient ecotypes. Management and enforcement are both inadequate, which is leading to illegal capturing and the hushing up of whale deaths. At last September���s roundtable and subsequent discussions at the "Marine Mammals of Holarctic" conference in St. Petersburg, Russia, it was reported that the representative of TINRO denied all criticisms though he could not clearly answer any of the questions. He claimed that TINRO has no interest in orca capturing. Yet two days after the roundtable, TINRO announced an auction on their website to capture a young killer whale for their own purposes. And now the information, as reported above, is that TINRO has taken two orcas and supported the capture of another by commercial captors. The quota may allow for one more in this subregion, while up to 6 more are in the quota for other subregion in the Okhotsk Sea, although the logistics of capture killer whales in these other areas are much more difficult than Sakhalinsky Bay.
I am disturbed by the lack of transparent reporting about the captures. The first capture in 2004 had two mortalities of young females. We have no idea how many other killer whales may be dying in the process of these captures that have occurred over the past three years.
The captures are disappointing. The failure of management is disappointing. The lack of transparency speaks volumes. On the plus side, many Russian scientists are asking questions and demanding answers. But the answers are in short supply.
For more information on past captures in Russia, go to: http://bit.ly/1DPkxOH
�� Erich Hoyt 2015
June 20, 2015
Iceland���s brand
Speaking in Iceland on whale watching and, among other things, talking about brilliant new book Creativity, Inc., by Ed Catmull, President of Pixar, on how they made 1st feature computer film ���Toy Story and created successful Pixar studio in spite of, and then because of, Steve Jobs. Fascinating study of how to create an atmosphere devoted to creativity. Some widely applicable lessons about how to market a brand, any brand, it could be the brand of a country too, through partnership with the customers...Also talked about another book I���ve read called Category of One. If ever there were a country that is a category of one, it is Iceland.
But the Icelandic government needs to decide upon and then protect its image. At present, people unfamiliar with Iceland are unsure if Iceland is a backward country that persists in whaling, or if it is a country of the future. It is certainly the best place to see whales in Europe. On our short visit, we had humpback and minke whales, white-beaked dolphins, harbor porpoises, and blue whales blowing in the distance. In the past I have had some of my best blue, minke and killer whale experiences, the latter in the middle of February. Whale watching is being done to a very high standard in Iceland. More than 200,000 people a year go whale watching ��� one of every four visitors to the country.
Support the whale watching, visit whale friendly restaurants that don���t serve whale meat, and enjoy the pure, clean air, water and food. Best overall introduction to whale watching in Iceland can be found here: http://icewhale.is.
But the Icelandic government needs to decide upon and then protect its image. At present, people unfamiliar with Iceland are unsure if Iceland is a backward country that persists in whaling, or if it is a country of the future. It is certainly the best place to see whales in Europe. On our short visit, we had humpback and minke whales, white-beaked dolphins, harbor porpoises, and blue whales blowing in the distance. In the past I have had some of my best blue, minke and killer whale experiences, the latter in the middle of February. Whale watching is being done to a very high standard in Iceland. More than 200,000 people a year go whale watching ��� one of every four visitors to the country.
Support the whale watching, visit whale friendly restaurants that don���t serve whale meat, and enjoy the pure, clean air, water and food. Best overall introduction to whale watching in Iceland can be found here: http://icewhale.is.
June 9, 2015
Of flying devil rays, gray whales and Walter Munk
Visiting La Jolla recently and meeting the great Walter Munk, aged 97 and still active. Former director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Munk ���unlocked the secret to predicting waves, conquered the dark side of the moon, broke the code that revealed ocean warming��� among many other things, according to the notes from Eliana Alvarez Martinez who has directed a documentary on Walter and my close colleague Giuseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara, who co-chairs the IUCN MMPATF with me. At Giuseppe���s invitation, I met up with Walter and his wife Mary as well as Eliana. So we���re having cocktails and snacks out on the terraced cliff behind his house and then a gray whale spouts, observed by Patty Elkus from Mission Blue and we all see them, followed by a pod of dolphins. That gray whale was very late for the long journey up to Alaska for the feeding season. Most have already passed San Diego, home of the first whale census in the 1940s with Carl Hubbs (who also spent years at Scripps). Reflecting on the intertwined histories of humans and whales and the sea���and of course rays, too, for the Eliana���s film is about Giuseppe taking Walter out to meet the rare species of ray that he had named after Walter: Mobula munkiana, the pygmy devil ray. By some coincidence I managed to secure a photo of a flying devil ray for my latest book and put it on a full page, opening the prologue of Creatures of the Deep on p.14. Check out the film preview here.
February 18, 2015
To save a right whale, save her home, part 2
PART 2 of 2 (for PART 1, see To save a right whale, part 1
With only about 500 individuals, the North Atlantic right whale remains on the endangered species list, even though there has been no whaling of this species since the mid-1900s. This was the first whale to be caught commercially, initially by the Basques beginning in the 11th Century. At least 5,500 right whales, and possibly twice that number, were caught in the western North Atlantic between 1634 and 1951. Once feared extinct, the species was rediscovered in the early 1980s and since then has received considerable scientific attention to try to determine why it was apparently not increasing.
Right whale researchers Scott Kraus, Amy Knowlton and their colleagues have shown that the species was getting hit by ships faster than they could reproduce. Much of this relates to the fact that right whales are oblivious to the world when they travel, feed and are engaged in courtship activities. They are often close to the surface of the sea. Unlike killer whales or humpbacks which have a more flamboyant appearance at the surface, and also appear to be more aware of ships, right whales often look and act more like barely visible rocks, and this makes them susceptible to getting hit.
Based on this research, in 2008, WDC, Defenders of Wildlife, The Humane Society of the United States, and Ocean Conservancy went to court to insist that speed limits be put in place. And in 2012, they petitioned the US government to extend those protections indefinitely.
North Atlantic right whales are now primarily threatened by fishing gear entanglements. According to the National Marine Fisheries Service, the U.S. agency charged with protecting right whales, the rate of serious injury and mortality from fishing gear entanglements is double what this species can sustain.
But does protecting habitat work to save highly mobile whales and dolphins?
Two recent studies have clearly shown the benefits of protected whale and dolphin habitat.
In 2014, David Laist and his colleagues found that, over the previous five years, imposing slower 10 knot speed limits on ships passing through, or within 45 nm (83 km) of any one of ten North Atlantic right whale seasonal management areas along the US east coast had reduced the number of mortalities from ship strikes to zero. In the previous 18 years, 13 of 15 right whales killed by ships had been found in the same areas.
In 2012, Andrew Gormley and colleagues looked at the protection of the New Zealand or Hector’s dolphin in the Banks Peninsula Marine Mammal Sanctuary. These dolphins, only found in New Zealand, are also an endangered species whose reproductive rate is eclipsed by the numbers killed every year in set and trawl nets. But within this sanctuary, where no set and trawl net fishing was allowed for two decades, dolphin survival rates improved dramatically.
Marine protected areas and other area-based protections can work effectively if there are good management plans, enforcement and monitoring. In November 2014, at the once every 10 years IUCN World Parks Congress, the world conservation community celebrated that 3.4% of the world ocean was now currently protected. But at the same time, there was great concern. Less than 0.7% of the ocean is highly protected and only 0.25% is protected on the high seas, the largest area of the ocean and the location of 99% of the Earth’s habitats because of its great depth. The Aichi target is for at least 10% protection by 2020, and the World Parks Congress recommends that at least 3% must be highly protected in order to provide minimal protection for ocean ecosystems that sustain life on Earth.
We have a long way to go worldwide, but we have a chance off the US and Canadian east coasts. By spotlighting and instituting effective protection for North Atlantic right whale critical habitat, we have the chance to save an endangered species.
© Erich Hoyt 2015
With only about 500 individuals, the North Atlantic right whale remains on the endangered species list, even though there has been no whaling of this species since the mid-1900s. This was the first whale to be caught commercially, initially by the Basques beginning in the 11th Century. At least 5,500 right whales, and possibly twice that number, were caught in the western North Atlantic between 1634 and 1951. Once feared extinct, the species was rediscovered in the early 1980s and since then has received considerable scientific attention to try to determine why it was apparently not increasing.
Right whale researchers Scott Kraus, Amy Knowlton and their colleagues have shown that the species was getting hit by ships faster than they could reproduce. Much of this relates to the fact that right whales are oblivious to the world when they travel, feed and are engaged in courtship activities. They are often close to the surface of the sea. Unlike killer whales or humpbacks which have a more flamboyant appearance at the surface, and also appear to be more aware of ships, right whales often look and act more like barely visible rocks, and this makes them susceptible to getting hit.
Based on this research, in 2008, WDC, Defenders of Wildlife, The Humane Society of the United States, and Ocean Conservancy went to court to insist that speed limits be put in place. And in 2012, they petitioned the US government to extend those protections indefinitely.
North Atlantic right whales are now primarily threatened by fishing gear entanglements. According to the National Marine Fisheries Service, the U.S. agency charged with protecting right whales, the rate of serious injury and mortality from fishing gear entanglements is double what this species can sustain.
But does protecting habitat work to save highly mobile whales and dolphins?
Two recent studies have clearly shown the benefits of protected whale and dolphin habitat.
In 2014, David Laist and his colleagues found that, over the previous five years, imposing slower 10 knot speed limits on ships passing through, or within 45 nm (83 km) of any one of ten North Atlantic right whale seasonal management areas along the US east coast had reduced the number of mortalities from ship strikes to zero. In the previous 18 years, 13 of 15 right whales killed by ships had been found in the same areas.
In 2012, Andrew Gormley and colleagues looked at the protection of the New Zealand or Hector’s dolphin in the Banks Peninsula Marine Mammal Sanctuary. These dolphins, only found in New Zealand, are also an endangered species whose reproductive rate is eclipsed by the numbers killed every year in set and trawl nets. But within this sanctuary, where no set and trawl net fishing was allowed for two decades, dolphin survival rates improved dramatically.
Marine protected areas and other area-based protections can work effectively if there are good management plans, enforcement and monitoring. In November 2014, at the once every 10 years IUCN World Parks Congress, the world conservation community celebrated that 3.4% of the world ocean was now currently protected. But at the same time, there was great concern. Less than 0.7% of the ocean is highly protected and only 0.25% is protected on the high seas, the largest area of the ocean and the location of 99% of the Earth’s habitats because of its great depth. The Aichi target is for at least 10% protection by 2020, and the World Parks Congress recommends that at least 3% must be highly protected in order to provide minimal protection for ocean ecosystems that sustain life on Earth.
We have a long way to go worldwide, but we have a chance off the US and Canadian east coasts. By spotlighting and instituting effective protection for North Atlantic right whale critical habitat, we have the chance to save an endangered species.
© Erich Hoyt 2015
February 3, 2015
To save a right whale, save her home
PART 1 of 2
Over the years, I have watched North Atlantic right whales skim along the surface feeding on copepods, nudge each other in what seemed like play, and charge toward an inverted female attempting to mate.
All of these things happen in relatively predictable places and times of year. Right whale habitats.
I’ll never forget sailing out on a rainy summer day off southern Nova Scotia. Seas were choppy, and we’d resigned ourselves to a fog wetter than rain. Yet, after 5 or 6 hours of steady sailing straight out into the open sea, the sun came out, the sea calmed and we were suddenly in the midst of 30 right whales. This was Roseway Basin, a courtship area favored by the whales, which was in the middle of nowhere as far as I could determine. As we watched the whales play their courtship games, I was struck by the precision of the skipper’s knowledge about where the whales were found.
Right whales and other baleen whales travel the oceans, migrating thousands of miles every year. Yet like humpback, gray and some of the other better studied baleen whales, they travel along similar routes and return to some of the same habitats year after year, some of which we are still discovering. These specific areas are special to the whales for one reason or another.
In the cold, temperate waters of New England and the Bay of Fundy, such areas are where whales find dense patches of copepods and other food. By contrast, in the warm waters off the Southeast U.S., the habitat seems to be defined by water temperature and depth related to the best conditions for raising a newborn calf.
Still, as much as we can predict the location of certain habitats, the locations of portions of the population remain mysterious at any one time. We have to keep refining our knowledge of what constitutes a good habitat.
Right whales have large habitats as befits a large, highly mobile creature. Compared to land, habitats in the sea for most species tend to be much larger, more fluid, with a certain amount of variation from year to year. But they are still definable and protecting these “homes for whales” is critical for their survival as well as a matter of legal responsibility in the U.S. and Canada with legislation that dictates a response when a species is endangered. The governments must try to locate and protect the troubled species’ critical habitat and follow up with a recovery plan.
Next week, I will write more about this, so please check for Part 2.
© Erich Hoyt 2015
Over the years, I have watched North Atlantic right whales skim along the surface feeding on copepods, nudge each other in what seemed like play, and charge toward an inverted female attempting to mate.
All of these things happen in relatively predictable places and times of year. Right whale habitats.
I’ll never forget sailing out on a rainy summer day off southern Nova Scotia. Seas were choppy, and we’d resigned ourselves to a fog wetter than rain. Yet, after 5 or 6 hours of steady sailing straight out into the open sea, the sun came out, the sea calmed and we were suddenly in the midst of 30 right whales. This was Roseway Basin, a courtship area favored by the whales, which was in the middle of nowhere as far as I could determine. As we watched the whales play their courtship games, I was struck by the precision of the skipper’s knowledge about where the whales were found.
Right whales and other baleen whales travel the oceans, migrating thousands of miles every year. Yet like humpback, gray and some of the other better studied baleen whales, they travel along similar routes and return to some of the same habitats year after year, some of which we are still discovering. These specific areas are special to the whales for one reason or another.
In the cold, temperate waters of New England and the Bay of Fundy, such areas are where whales find dense patches of copepods and other food. By contrast, in the warm waters off the Southeast U.S., the habitat seems to be defined by water temperature and depth related to the best conditions for raising a newborn calf.
Still, as much as we can predict the location of certain habitats, the locations of portions of the population remain mysterious at any one time. We have to keep refining our knowledge of what constitutes a good habitat.
Right whales have large habitats as befits a large, highly mobile creature. Compared to land, habitats in the sea for most species tend to be much larger, more fluid, with a certain amount of variation from year to year. But they are still definable and protecting these “homes for whales” is critical for their survival as well as a matter of legal responsibility in the U.S. and Canada with legislation that dictates a response when a species is endangered. The governments must try to locate and protect the troubled species’ critical habitat and follow up with a recovery plan.
Next week, I will write more about this, so please check for Part 2.
© Erich Hoyt 2015
December 21, 2014
Free Orca Calendar 2015 from Far East Russia Orca Project
You can download the free 2015 Far East Russia Orca Project (FEROP) calendar (6 Mb) here: FEROP Calendar 2015(2).pdf. For more information and updates about the Far East Russia Orca Project, please check out our website, or join our facebook page.
November 17, 2014
Questions of Place & Size at 3rd Int���l Conf on Marine Mammal Protected Areas (ICMMPA 3)
I have just returned from the third conference we���ve put together on marine mammal protected areas. It was held in Adelaide, Australia, good venue on the beach at Glenelg and well organized. For the first time we tried a three day conference, although we had a pre-conference all day workshop, as well. Action packed and stuff happening all the time. Great participants made it work well and it���s possible to see the continuing evolution of this global marine mammal protected area community. No time to consider things afterwards as several of us moved on to the big IUCN World Parks Congress (held once every 10 years). More about that in later posts.
Here���s our full press release put together at the close of the ICMMPA 3:
The declaration of the first marine protected area, or MPA, for Bangladesh to safeguard Bryde���s whales, tropical dolphins, sea turtles, and sharks was announced this week at the Third International Conference on Marine Mammal Protected Areas (ICMMPA 3), in Adelaide, Australia. More than 100 delegates from over 20 countries around the globe gathered for the conference, a parallel event to the IUCN World Parks Congress, being held this week in Sydney. ���Important Marine Mammal Areas - A Sense of Place, a Question of Size,��� was the theme of ICMMPA 3.
���Many large new MPAs designated by Pacific nations as well as the US and France have come on stream in the last few years,��� said Naomi McIntosh, NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries Pacific Islands Region and Chair of the International Committee on Marine Mammal Protected Areas. ���They are presenting new challenges for management, but we also wanted to revisit the smaller areas and how they can help marine mammal conservation.���
Also in a conference keynote and in two workshops, Erich Hoyt, Whale and Dolphin Conservation Research Fellow, announced a new tool for conservation ��� the Important Marine Mammal Area, or IMMA, which the Committee along with the IUCN Marine Mammal Protected Areas Task Force, have been developing.
���IMMAs are not MPAs,��� says Hoyt, co-chair of the new Task Force with Giuseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara. ���They are tools to identify and map all the areas that we should be paying attention to whether the result is an MPA, part of a network, a zone for marine spatial planning, or an area where whales are getting hit or being bothered by noise that could be zoned or given other protection measures. Putting a layer of IMMAs on the map keeps everyone honest.���
���Worldwide, there are at least 700 existing or proposed MPAs for marine mammals in some 90 countries,��� McIntosh said, ���the future of marine mammals reveals the future of the health of the ocean and the planet.���
Notes for Editors:
The International Conference on Marine Mammal Protected Areas (icmmpa.org) provides an international forum for Marine Mammal Protected Area managers, scientists and educators to share common challenges and solutions in the protection and conservation of the world���s marine mammals.
The conference held Panel discussions and workshop sessions leading to recommendations for improved marine mammal management, networking and approach to emerging threats.
Delegates represented marine mammal protected areas of every description, from small or remote locations to sophisticated globally recognized sites.
Other organizations represented at the conference included the International Union for Conservation of Nature Marine Mammal Protected Areas Task Force, the U.S. Marine Mammal Commission, IFAW, Whale and Dolphin Conservation, SPREP the governments of Australia, France and Mexico including the South Australian Government.
During the conference, the French Marine Protected Agency announced a joint agreement for networking between the Agoa Sanctuary in the French Caribbean and the Saguenay ��� St. Lawrence Marine Park in Qu��bec, Canada. Some humpbacks make the journey between the two parks every year. On the final day, the Government of Mexico���s National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP) announced that they would host the Fourth International Conference on Marine Mammal Protected Areas (ICMMPA 4) in 2016.
The ICMMPA is an informal group of international experts dedicated to the conservation of marine mammals and their habitats. Members of ICMMPA (pronounced eye-COM-pa) represent various geographic regions, as well as a wide range of expertise within the fields of marine mammal biology, ecology and the design and management of marine protected areas and other marine planning initiatives. Members include scientists, representatives of governmental agencies and NGOs.
For more information: icmmpa.org
Here���s our full press release put together at the close of the ICMMPA 3:
The declaration of the first marine protected area, or MPA, for Bangladesh to safeguard Bryde���s whales, tropical dolphins, sea turtles, and sharks was announced this week at the Third International Conference on Marine Mammal Protected Areas (ICMMPA 3), in Adelaide, Australia. More than 100 delegates from over 20 countries around the globe gathered for the conference, a parallel event to the IUCN World Parks Congress, being held this week in Sydney. ���Important Marine Mammal Areas - A Sense of Place, a Question of Size,��� was the theme of ICMMPA 3.
���Many large new MPAs designated by Pacific nations as well as the US and France have come on stream in the last few years,��� said Naomi McIntosh, NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries Pacific Islands Region and Chair of the International Committee on Marine Mammal Protected Areas. ���They are presenting new challenges for management, but we also wanted to revisit the smaller areas and how they can help marine mammal conservation.���
Also in a conference keynote and in two workshops, Erich Hoyt, Whale and Dolphin Conservation Research Fellow, announced a new tool for conservation ��� the Important Marine Mammal Area, or IMMA, which the Committee along with the IUCN Marine Mammal Protected Areas Task Force, have been developing.
���IMMAs are not MPAs,��� says Hoyt, co-chair of the new Task Force with Giuseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara. ���They are tools to identify and map all the areas that we should be paying attention to whether the result is an MPA, part of a network, a zone for marine spatial planning, or an area where whales are getting hit or being bothered by noise that could be zoned or given other protection measures. Putting a layer of IMMAs on the map keeps everyone honest.���
���Worldwide, there are at least 700 existing or proposed MPAs for marine mammals in some 90 countries,��� McIntosh said, ���the future of marine mammals reveals the future of the health of the ocean and the planet.���
Notes for Editors:
The International Conference on Marine Mammal Protected Areas (icmmpa.org) provides an international forum for Marine Mammal Protected Area managers, scientists and educators to share common challenges and solutions in the protection and conservation of the world���s marine mammals.
The conference held Panel discussions and workshop sessions leading to recommendations for improved marine mammal management, networking and approach to emerging threats.
Delegates represented marine mammal protected areas of every description, from small or remote locations to sophisticated globally recognized sites.
Other organizations represented at the conference included the International Union for Conservation of Nature Marine Mammal Protected Areas Task Force, the U.S. Marine Mammal Commission, IFAW, Whale and Dolphin Conservation, SPREP the governments of Australia, France and Mexico including the South Australian Government.
During the conference, the French Marine Protected Agency announced a joint agreement for networking between the Agoa Sanctuary in the French Caribbean and the Saguenay ��� St. Lawrence Marine Park in Qu��bec, Canada. Some humpbacks make the journey between the two parks every year. On the final day, the Government of Mexico���s National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP) announced that they would host the Fourth International Conference on Marine Mammal Protected Areas (ICMMPA 4) in 2016.
The ICMMPA is an informal group of international experts dedicated to the conservation of marine mammals and their habitats. Members of ICMMPA (pronounced eye-COM-pa) represent various geographic regions, as well as a wide range of expertise within the fields of marine mammal biology, ecology and the design and management of marine protected areas and other marine planning initiatives. Members include scientists, representatives of governmental agencies and NGOs.
For more information: icmmpa.org
Questions of Place & Size at 3rd Int’l Conf on Marine Mammal Protected Areas (ICMMPA 3)
I have just returned from the third conference we’ve put together on marine mammal protected areas. It was held in Adelaide, Australia, good venue on the beach at Glenelg and well organized. For the first time we tried a three day conference, although we had a pre-conference all day workshop, as well. Action packed and stuff happening all the time. Great participants made it work well and it’s possible to see the continuing evolution of this global marine mammal protected area community. No time to consider things afterwards as several of us moved on to the big IUCN World Parks Congress (held once every 10 years). More about that in later posts.
Here’s our full press release put together at the close of the ICMMPA 3:
The declaration of the first marine protected area, or MPA, for Bangladesh to safeguard Bryde’s whales, tropical dolphins, sea turtles, and sharks was announced this week at the Third International Conference on Marine Mammal Protected Areas (ICMMPA 3), in Adelaide, Australia. More than 100 delegates from over 20 countries around the globe gathered for the conference, a parallel event to the IUCN World Parks Congress, being held this week in Sydney. “Important Marine Mammal Areas - A Sense of Place, a Question of Size,” was the theme of ICMMPA 3.
““Many large new MPAs designated by Pacific nations as well as the US and France have come on stream in the last few years,” said Naomi McIntosh, NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries Pacific Islands Region and Chair of the International Committee on Marine Mammal Protected Areas. “They are presenting new challenges for management, but we also wanted to revisit the smaller areas and how they can help marine mammal conservation.”
Also in a conference keynote and in two workshops, Erich Hoyt, Whale and Dolphin Conservation Research Fellow, announced a new tool for conservation — the Important Marine Mammal Area, or IMMA, which the Committee along with the IUCN Marine Mammal Protected Areas Task Force, have been developing.
“IMMAs are not MPAs,” says Hoyt, co-chair of the new Task Force with Giuseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara. “They are tools to identify and map all the areas that we should be paying attention to whether the result is an MPA, part of a network, a zone for marine spatial planning, or an area where whales are getting hit or being bothered by noise that could be zoned or given other protection measures. Putting a layer of IMMAs on the map keeps everyone honest.”
“Worldwide, there are at least 700 existing or proposed MPAs for marine mammals in some 90 countries,” McIntosh said, “the future of marine mammals reveals the future of the health of the ocean and the planet.”
Notes for Editors:
The International Conference on Marine Mammal Protected Areas (icmmpa.org) provides an international forum for Marine Mammal Protected Area managers, scientists and educators to share common challenges and solutions in the protection and conservation of the world’s marine mammals.
The conference held Panel discussions and workshop sessions leading to recommendations for improved marine mammal management, networking and approach to emerging threats.
Delegates represented marine mammal protected areas of every description, from small or remote locations to sophisticated globally recognized sites.
Other organizations represented at the conference included the International Union for Conservation of Nature Marine Mammal Protected Areas Task Force, the U.S. Marine Mammal Commission, IFAW, Whale and Dolphin Conservation, SPREP the governments of Australia, France and Mexico including the South Australian Government.
During the conference, the French Marine Protected Agency announced a joint agreement for networking between the Agoa Sanctuary in the French Caribbean and the Saguenay – St. Lawrence Marine Park in Québec, Canada. Some humpbacks make the journey between the two parks every year. On the final day, the Government of Mexico’s National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP) announced that they would host the Fourth International Conference on Marine Mammal Protected Areas (ICMMPA 4) in 2016.
The ICMMPA is an informal group of international experts dedicated to the conservation of marine mammals and their habitats. Members of ICMMPA (pronounced eye-COM-pa) represent various geographic regions, as well as a wide range of expertise within the fields of marine mammal biology, ecology and the design and management of marine protected areas and other marine planning initiatives. Members include scientists, representatives of governmental agencies and NGOs.
For more information: icmmpa.org
Here’s our full press release put together at the close of the ICMMPA 3:
The declaration of the first marine protected area, or MPA, for Bangladesh to safeguard Bryde’s whales, tropical dolphins, sea turtles, and sharks was announced this week at the Third International Conference on Marine Mammal Protected Areas (ICMMPA 3), in Adelaide, Australia. More than 100 delegates from over 20 countries around the globe gathered for the conference, a parallel event to the IUCN World Parks Congress, being held this week in Sydney. “Important Marine Mammal Areas - A Sense of Place, a Question of Size,” was the theme of ICMMPA 3.
““Many large new MPAs designated by Pacific nations as well as the US and France have come on stream in the last few years,” said Naomi McIntosh, NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries Pacific Islands Region and Chair of the International Committee on Marine Mammal Protected Areas. “They are presenting new challenges for management, but we also wanted to revisit the smaller areas and how they can help marine mammal conservation.”
Also in a conference keynote and in two workshops, Erich Hoyt, Whale and Dolphin Conservation Research Fellow, announced a new tool for conservation — the Important Marine Mammal Area, or IMMA, which the Committee along with the IUCN Marine Mammal Protected Areas Task Force, have been developing.
“IMMAs are not MPAs,” says Hoyt, co-chair of the new Task Force with Giuseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara. “They are tools to identify and map all the areas that we should be paying attention to whether the result is an MPA, part of a network, a zone for marine spatial planning, or an area where whales are getting hit or being bothered by noise that could be zoned or given other protection measures. Putting a layer of IMMAs on the map keeps everyone honest.”
“Worldwide, there are at least 700 existing or proposed MPAs for marine mammals in some 90 countries,” McIntosh said, “the future of marine mammals reveals the future of the health of the ocean and the planet.”
Notes for Editors:
The International Conference on Marine Mammal Protected Areas (icmmpa.org) provides an international forum for Marine Mammal Protected Area managers, scientists and educators to share common challenges and solutions in the protection and conservation of the world’s marine mammals.
The conference held Panel discussions and workshop sessions leading to recommendations for improved marine mammal management, networking and approach to emerging threats.
Delegates represented marine mammal protected areas of every description, from small or remote locations to sophisticated globally recognized sites.
Other organizations represented at the conference included the International Union for Conservation of Nature Marine Mammal Protected Areas Task Force, the U.S. Marine Mammal Commission, IFAW, Whale and Dolphin Conservation, SPREP the governments of Australia, France and Mexico including the South Australian Government.
During the conference, the French Marine Protected Agency announced a joint agreement for networking between the Agoa Sanctuary in the French Caribbean and the Saguenay – St. Lawrence Marine Park in Québec, Canada. Some humpbacks make the journey between the two parks every year. On the final day, the Government of Mexico’s National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP) announced that they would host the Fourth International Conference on Marine Mammal Protected Areas (ICMMPA 4) in 2016.
The ICMMPA is an informal group of international experts dedicated to the conservation of marine mammals and their habitats. Members of ICMMPA (pronounced eye-COM-pa) represent various geographic regions, as well as a wide range of expertise within the fields of marine mammal biology, ecology and the design and management of marine protected areas and other marine planning initiatives. Members include scientists, representatives of governmental agencies and NGOs.
For more information: icmmpa.org
October 22, 2014
High time to protect the Ross Sea
The world is calling on CCAMLR — the body responsible for declaring MPAs and protecting species’ habitat in the Antarctic region — to achieve a long overdue decision on a network of fully protected marine protected areas in the Antarctic region. Most important, we need a decision on the jewel of the Antarctic, the Ross Sea, home of possible new species of killer whales, minke whales and much more. A new report from AOA highlights a small sample of the thousands of resilient species that call the pristine Southern Ocean home. As the 33rd annual CCAMLR meeting carries on this week and next, the new report, “33 Species We Love and Must Protect” serves as a symbolic reminder that in order to continue research and discovery in Antarctica and protect many vulnerable and unique species, there must be commitment to preservation through enhanced protection.
For more information, see: http://antarcticocean.org and http://asoc.org
For more information, see: http://antarcticocean.org and http://asoc.org
