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Whaling & Whale Management Whale Management & Whaling Whale Management & Whaling Effective management requires: 1. Clear definition of goals 2. Agreement of user groups 3. Practical strategies that can be implemented and enforced 4. Information feed-back to allow assessment of success U.S. Marine Mammal Management Marine Mammal Protection Act - 1972 Prohibits taking of all marine mammals Take means to: harass, hunt, capture or kill, or attempt to harass, hunt, capture or kill Exceptions: Scientific research Public display Subsistence harvest Commercial fisheries (under certain conditions) Marine Mammal Protection Act Goals: Maintain stocks of marine mammals at their Optimum Sustainable Population (OSP) levels Maintain stocks of marine mammals as functioning elements of their ecosystems Marine Mammal Protection Act dN/dt Population Size (N) MNPL = Maximum Net Productivity Level (like MSY) OSP = a population size range between the Maximum Net Productivity Level and the carrying capacity of the ecosystem 1994 Amendment of the MMPA Marine mammal Commission defined the following objectives for marine mammal management (Taylor et al. 2000): (1) maintain the fullest possible range of management options for future generations, (2) restore depleted species and populations of marine mammals to optimum sustainable level with no significant time delays, (3) reduce takes (kills) to as near zero as practicable, and (4) as possible, minimize hardships to commercial fisheries while achieving the previous objectives. The implementation of this management follows these steps: Preparation of Stock Assessment Reports for all stocks Reduce mortality to below Potential Biological Removal Zero Mortality Rate goal within 7 years Assessments by MMPA PBR = (Nmin) × (½ Rmax) × (Fr) Where: Nmin = minimum population estimate rmax = maximum rate of increase Fr = recovery factor If anthropogenic mortality > PBR, stock is considered strategic Assessments by MMPA PBR = (Nmin) × (½ Rmax) × (Fr) For harbour porpoises in the Gulf of Maine: Nmin = 48,285 Rmax = 0.04 Fr = 0.5 PBR = (48,289)·(1/2)·(0.04)·(0.5) = 483 Estimated mortality in commercial fisheries in 1997 = 1,570 (1570 > 483) Thus, this stock is considered strategic Fr = 1, 483 * 2 = 966, still below the mortality (1570) Fr = 0, 483 * 0 = 0, still below the mortality (1570) 1994 Amendment of the MMPA Safety factor based on data uncertainty: Larger CV, lower PBR Smaller CV, higher PBR (Taylor et al. 2000) 1994 Amendment of the MMPA For all strategic stocks: Review stock assessment annually Establish a Take Reduction Team Prepare a Take Reduction Plan Reduce anthropogenic mortality (< PBR within 6 months) Whale Management & Whaling • Progression of commercial whaling • The International Whaling Commission: success or failure? • Next steps for Whaling How Many Whales are There ? Name Rating Abundance Fewest Northern right whale 1 450 Southern right whale 2 8,000 1 <1,000 Blue whale 2 10,000 2 <10,000 Bowhead whale 3 20,000 Grey whale 3 22,000 3 <100,000 Humpback whale 3 >50,000 4 <1 million Sei whale 3 53,000 5 everywhere Bryde’s whale 3 63,000 Fin whale 4 141,000 Sperm whale 5 >934,000 Most Minke whale 5 >970,000 Early Whaling Archaeological evidence of subsistence whaling from Stone Age Basque whaling in Gulf of Biscay in 10th century Commercial exploitation of right whales from 12th century Basque hunt for right & bowhead whales in Labrador from 1530 Between 1530 and 1600: http://www.heritage.nf.ca/ 20,000 bowhead and right whales exploration/basque.html 15 ships and 600 men per season History of Whaling • 1200s-1600s Basques, Europe to mid-Atlantic to the North Atlantic, overfishing right whales • 1600s-1700s Spitzbergen [Arctic] & Nantucket [Cape Cod], right & bowhead, 65,000 caught by Dutch alone • Yankee whaling for sperm whales off New England from 1712 • 1700s-1800s Nantucket sperm whalers expanded to Bahamas, West Indies, Africa, South America… then Pacific and Australia • Powering the oil lamps of London… History of Whaling Right and Bowhead whales Right and Bowhead whales Gray whales 1790 Sperm whales Sperm whales Sequential Depletion Right + Bowhead whales Discovery Sperm whales Humpback whales Discovery Over-exploitation Discovery Over-exploitation Commercial extinction Over-exploitation Commercial extinction Commercial extinction Modern Whaling Invention of grenade harpoon & use of powered vessels from 1864: Sailboats steamships (hunt fast blue and fin whales) Manual harpoon harpoon cannon with explosive tips Antarctic whaling initiated in 1904 (in south Georgia) High-tech operations start in 1920s: - on-board processing on factory-ships - air pumps prevent sinking, fleets of catcher boats, buoy boats First Convention for the Regulation of Whaling in 1931 Tønnessen & Johnsen 1982. The history of modern whaling International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (1946) ICRW Designed to promote: The conservation of whale resources and The orderly development of the whaling industry The Commission: Scientific Committee Financial Committee Technical Committee Rise and fall of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) “To provide for the proper conservation of whale stocks and thus make possible the orderly development of the whaling industry” • Formed in 1946, with 14 signatories (all coastal, all whaling nations) • Regulates whaling around the world • Scientific Committee provides scientific advice to the political Commission IWC Structure The “Convention” 88 Members Membership Voluntary Secretariat in Cambridge Observers: NGOs 75% majority to change Schedule The “Schedule” Schedule amended annually http://www.iwcoffice.org/ IWC Mechanics Amendments must be passed by a three-quarters majority Member governments may lodge an objection within 90 days The IWC has no power to enforce regulations http://www.iwcoffice.org/ Antigua & Barbuda Dominican Kenya Portugal Republic Argentina Rep of Korea Russia Ecuador Australia Laos Saint Kitts & Nevis Estonia Austria Luxembourg Saint Lucia Finland Belgium Mali Saint Vincent France Belize Marshall Islands San Marino Gabon Benin Mauritania Senegal Gambia Brazil Mexico Slovak Republic Germany Bulgaria Monaco Slovenia Greece Cambodia Mongolia Solomon Islands Grenada Cameroon Morocco South Africa Guinea Chile Nauru Spain Guinea-Bissau PR of China Netherlands Suriname Hungary Costa Rica New Zealand Sweden Iceland Côte d'Ivoire Nicaragua Switzerland India Croatia Norway Togo Ireland Czech Republic Oman Tuvalu Israel Cyprus Palau Uruguay Italy Denmark Panama UK Japan Dominica PR of China USA Kiribati Peru IWC – Management History • Routine over-exploitation continued for decades • Ban on blue whales and humpback whales in 1960s • Observers halted illegal whaling in 1970s • New Management Procedure 1975/6: era of sustainable whaling • Ten-year moratorium starts in 1985/6: beginning of political stalemate • Revised Management Procedure for continued whaling adopted in 1994, never implemented • Current status: gridlock … therefore moratorium continues indefinitely IWC Blue Whale Units • Whale stocks limited by an overall TAC measured in Blue Whale Units: 1 blue whale = 2 fin whales = 2.5 humpback = 6 Sei / Bryde’s whales • What is the problem with this system? The Spectacular Mismanagement of Antarctic Whaling 15 Humpback 0 25 Blue Modern 0 whaling in 25 Fin Antarctic 0 15 Sperm 0 Sei (Catches in (thousands) Catch 15 thousands) 0 7 Minke 0 1905 1915 1925 1935 1945 1955 1965 1975 1985 Year Hilborn et al. (2003) Annual Review of Environment and Resources 28:359-399. Modern Whaling - Removals More than 2,000,000 whales taken from the Southern Hemisphere in 20th century Fin Sperm Blue Sei Minke Humpback Unspec. Antarctic Bryde S. Hemisphere N. Hemisphere Small Gray Right Bowhead 0 200000 400000 600000 800000 1000000 Total catch (1868-2001) International Whaling Commission, Dec 2002 Illegal Harvests Catches of the wrong species, and in the wrong areas… until 1980s. Biological rationale for the lack of a recovery in many species. Zemsky et al. (1995) Reports of the International Whaling Commission 46: 131-135 IWC Moratorium Adopted in 1982 - to take effect in 1985-1986 “Notwithstanding the other provisions of paragraph 10, catch limits for the killing for commercial purposes of whales from all stocks for the 1986 coastal and the 1985/86 pelagic seasons and thereafter shall be zero. This provision will be kept under review, based upon the best scientific advice, and by 1990 at the latest the Commission will undertake a comprehensive assessment of the effects of this decision on whale stocks and consider modification of this provision and the establishment of other catch limits.” http://www.iwcoffice.org/ IWC Moratorium Objections: Japan (later withdrawn) Norway Peru USSR IWC – Comprehensive Assessment “an in-depth evaluation of the status of all whale stocks in the light of management objectives and procedures... that ... would include the examination of current stock size, recent population trends, carrying capacity and productivity.” Implemented the following management schemes: Management Objectives - Revised Management Procedure and Implementation Strategy - Revised Management Strategy Revised Management Procedure Philosophy: Provide a balance between conservation & commercial harvest Allows catch limits to be set with minimal requirements for data Agreed to in 1991 by Commission Revised Management Procedure Goals: (1) Allow recovery of depleted stocks (below 54% of K) (2) Obtain highest possible stable yield (3) Maintain exploited stocks at 72% of K Revised Management Strategy Safeguards:
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