Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan

Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan
Name	Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan
Formation	1997
Type	Conservation program
Purpose	Reduce serious injury and mortality of large whales from commercial fishing
Headquarters	National Marine Fisheries Service Northeast Region
Region served	Atlantic Ocean (U.S.)
Parent organization	National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan The Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan is a regulatory and management framework intended to reduce serious injury and mortality of large cetaceans from interactions with commercial fishing gear along the United States Atlantic coast. It integrates measures developed through statutory mandates, scientific assessments, stakeholder negotiations, and administrative rulemaking to address entanglement risk to populations such as North Atlantic right whale, humpback whale, and fin whale. The plan links fisheries management, marine mammals science, and maritime safety across federal and state jurisdictions.

Overview and Purpose

The plan aims to achieve the mandates of the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act by minimizing incidental take of protected species in fisheries including Atlantic gillnet fisheries, lobster trap fisheries, and crab pot fisheries. Objectives include reducing mortality and serious injury rates to levels consistent with recovery plan goals for endangered and threatened taxa, improving reporting and disentanglement response via programs like NOAA Fisheries disentanglement networks, and coordinating risk reduction in designated critical habitat areas. It also seeks to balance conservation with the socioeconomic needs of coastal communities dependent on New England fisheries and Mid-Atlantic fisheries.

History and Legal Framework

The initiative originated from statutory provisions in the Marine Mammal Protection Act amendments and was shaped by litigation including cases before the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts and adjudication invoking the Administrative Procedure Act. Key milestones include promulgation of take reduction team recommendations under authority of NOAA Fisheries and incorporation of measures following consultation under the Endangered Species Act with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service input where applicable. Interagency coordination has involved entities such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service, and state agencies from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York (state), and North Carolina.

Management Measures and Regulations

Regulatory tools deployed include seasonal and area-based dynamic management area closures, trap/pot gear modifications such as weak-link and breakaway standards, reductions in permitted vertical and horizontal line density, and rope marking requirements linking to entanglement source attribution. Measures have been implemented via rulemaking under the Code of Federal Regulations Title 50 and supplemented through emergency interim rules during acute right whale aggregation events. The plan also incorporates gear performance standards developed with input from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, New England Fishery Management Council, and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council.

Monitoring, Research, and Data Collection

Monitoring relies on observer programs including at-sea observers contracted through NOAA Fisheries and electronic monitoring pilots supported by the National Marine Sanctuaries program. Research priorities coordinated with institutions such as Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, SCRIPPS Institution of Oceanography, and the University of Rhode Island include entanglement injury assessment, population viability analysis for the North Atlantic right whale, passive acoustic monitoring, and aerial survey methodologies used by groups like Permits and Research Section teams. Data collection efforts integrate records from U.S. Coast Guard strandings response, disentanglement databases maintained by NOAA Fisheries' Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program, and fisher-reported interactions via cooperative programs with organizations such as Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation.

Implementation and Compliance

Implementation mechanisms include mandatory reporting, compliance monitoring by NOAA Office of Law Enforcement, at-sea enforcement conducted by the U.S. Coast Guard, and cooperative compliance through state enforcement agencies including Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries. Compliance incentives and assistance have included gear research grants from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and technical guidance from the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team—a stakeholder body drawing from fishers, conservation NGOs like Defenders of Wildlife, and scientific advisors from institutions such as Duke University. Adaptive management is enacted through periodic reviews, emergency rule authority, and intersessional meetings of the Take Reduction Team.

Effectiveness, Impacts, and Criticisms

Evaluations by NOAA Fisheries and peer-reviewed studies published in journals like Marine Mammal Science and Conservation Biology indicate mixed outcomes: documented reductions in entanglement risk in some areas and seasons coexist with continued mortalities, particularly for the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale. Critics, including National Resources Defense Council and affected fishery stakeholders, have raised concerns about sufficiency of measures, economic impacts on small-scale fishers in Maine and Massachusetts, and timeliness of enforcement. Legal challenges have questioned whether rulemaking adequately addressed Endangered Species Act requirements and whether risk reduction thresholds meet recovery plan objectives. Ongoing research, expanded electronic monitoring, and innovations in low-risk gear design are central to debates over the plan’s future efficacy and equity for coastal fishing communities.

Category:Marine conservation