Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team

Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team
Name	Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team
Formation	1997
Type	Advisory Committee
Purpose	Reduce serious injury and mortality of large whales
Location	Atlantic Ocean, United States
Parent organization	National Marine Fisheries Service

Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team is a federally chartered advisory committee established to address entanglement and other human-caused threats to large cetaceans in the western North Atlantic. The Team coordinates stakeholders from fisheries, conservation, academia, industry, and state and federal agencies to develop regulatory and voluntary measures aimed at populations such as the North Atlantic right whale, humpback whale, fin whale, minke whale, and blue whale. It operates within the statutory framework of the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act with technical support from the National Marine Fisheries Service and scientific input from institutions like the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

History and formation

The Team was convened after high-profile mortality events and litigation involving Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission members, environmental NGOs such as Natural Resources Defense Council, and federal agencies including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Its formation followed provisions in the Marine Mammal Protection Act and regulatory actions under the Endangered Species Act prompted by population declines in the North Atlantic right whale and entanglement reports from organizations like the New England Aquarium and Southeast Fisheries Science Center. Early meetings included representatives from state agencies such as the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, industry representatives from the American Lobster Fishery, and international parties from Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

Mission and objectives

The Team’s mission aligns with statutory mandates to reduce serious injury and mortality to large whales through development of a Take Reduction Plan that integrates fishery management, gear modification, and spatial-temporal measures. Objectives include minimizing entanglement risk to endangered populations like the North Atlantic right whale and threatened stocks such as the humpback whale (North Atlantic), while considering fisheries managed by the New England Fishery Management Council, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, and state commissions. The Team also aims to foster collaboration among stakeholders including the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, the Marine Stewardship Council-certified fisheries, tribal governments, and conservation groups like Defenders of Wildlife.

Membership and governance

Membership is multi-stakeholder and includes representatives from federal agencies such as the National Marine Fisheries Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Coast Guard, state agencies like the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, commercial fishing industry delegates from organizations such as the National Fisheries Institute and the Seafood Harvesters of America, academic experts from institutions including Duke University, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, and Rutgers University, and NGO members from World Wildlife Fund, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Ocean Conservancy. Governance follows the Federal Advisory Committee Act procedures, with consensus-driven deliberations, subcommittees, and liaison roles to bodies like the New England Aquarium and the International Whaling Commission.

Key measures and mitigation strategies

The Team has recommended measures spanning gear modification, time-area closures, and observer programs. Gear-focused strategies include promoting weak-link and sinking groundline designs used by lobster fishermen in regions like the Gulf of Maine and Southern New England, and ropeless or acoustic-triggered gear trials supported by technology developers and researchers from Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute and Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Time-area management has intersected with seasonal closures in areas near Cape Cod, Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, and Georges Bank, coordinated with shipping measures from the United States Coast Guard and routing measures endorsed by the International Maritime Organization. Monitoring strategies incorporate aerial surveys by teams from Canadian Whale Institute, passive acoustic monitoring developed by Cornell Lab of Ornithology partners, and disentanglement capacity-building workshops led by the Georgia Aquarium and the SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund.

Implementation and enforcement

Implementation channels include federal rulemaking by National Marine Fisheries Service under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and cooperative enforcement by the U.S. Coast Guard, state marine patrol units such as the Massachusetts Environmental Police, and port authorities. Enforcement tools range from observer coverage mandated by the National Observer Program to compliance incentives tied to certification bodies like the Marine Stewardship Council. Legal challenges and administrative review processes have involved the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in disputes over rulemaking and adaptive management.

Scientific research and monitoring

The Team relies on interdisciplinary science from organizations including the Southeast Fisheries Science Center, Alaska Fisheries Science Center collaborators, and academic groups at Stony Brook University and University of New Hampshire. Research topics include population modeling for the North Atlantic right whale conducted by the New England Aquarium and North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium, telemetry studies using tags developed at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, entanglement pathology investigated by the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History, and ecosystem modeling from the National Center for Atmospheric Research and Northeast Fisheries Science Center. Data-sharing partnerships include the Ocean Biodiversity Information System and cooperative agreements with Fisheries and Oceans Canada for transboundary monitoring.

Controversies and policy impacts

The Team’s recommendations have prompted debate among stakeholders, including litigation by industry groups, challenges from conservation NGOs, and policy disputes in state legislatures such as Massachusetts General Court. Controversies have centered on socio-economic impacts to the American lobster fishers in the Gulf of Maine, technological feasibility of ropeless gear promoted by developers like Advanced Fisheries Technology, and jurisdictional tensions between federal regulators and state agencies such as the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council. Policy impacts include amendments to Take Reduction Plans influencing shipping lane adjustments endorsed by the International Maritime Organization, funding allocations from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and international cooperation with Canada under memoranda involving Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the International Whaling Commission.

Category:Marine conservation organizations Category:Whale conservation