FIAO/R1289 (En) FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Report ISSN 2070-6987 Report of the EXPERT MEETING TO DEVELOP TECHNICAL GUIDELINES TO REDUCE BYCATCH OF MARINE MAMMALS IN CAPTURE FISHERIES Rome, Italy, 17−19 September 2019 Cover illustration: Alberto Gennari (2019) FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Report No. 1289 FIAO/R1289 (En) Report of the EXPERT MEETING TO DEVELOP TECHNICAL GUIDELINES TO REDUCE BYCATCH OF MARINE MAMMALS IN CAPTURE FISHERIES Rome, Italy, 17–19 September 2019 FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS Rome, 2020 Required citation: FAO. 2020. Report of the Expert Meeting to Develop Technical Guidelines to Reduce Bycatch of Marine Mammals in Capture Fisheries. Rome, Italy, 17–19 September 2019. FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Report No. 1289, Rome. https://doi.org/10.4060/CA7620EN The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers, whether or not these have been patented, does not imply that these have been endorsed or recommended by FAO in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. The views expressed in this information product are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of FAO. ISBN: 978-92-5-132150-8 ISSN: 2070-6987 (print) © FAO, 2020 Some rights reserved. 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FAO information products are available on the FAO website (www.fao.org/publications) and can be purchased through [email protected]. Requests for commercial use should be submitted via: www.fao.org/contact-us/licence-request. Queries regarding rights and licensing should be submitted to: [email protected]. iii PREPARATION OF THIS DOCUMENT This is the Report of the Expert Meeting to “Develop Technical guidelines to reduce bycatch of marine mammals in capture fisheries” which was held at FAO headquarters in Rome on 17–19 September 2019. The Expert Meeting was organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The meeting served to prepare “Technical guidelines to reduce bycatch of marine mammals in capture fisheries” that are directed at decision-makers, planners, managers, and all those involved in developing and implementing policy and technical interventions relevant to the bycatch of marine mammals in fisheries. The meeting was organized in response to the request from the Committee on Fisheries (COFI) at its 33rd Session in 2018 to develop technical guidelines on this subject. In line with the recommendations of COFI draft guidelines were prepared by Mr Tim Werner and Mr Steven Kennelly, with technical assistance from FAO’s Fishing Operations and Technology branch (FIAO) staff and consultants, Raymon van Anrooy, Pingguo He and Ingrid Giskes. The Expert Meeting reviewed the draft Guidelines for completeness, scope, aim and relevance of the guidance provided. Following the meeting, the authors prepared in October – November 2019 a near-final draft of the guidelines, which is included as annex to this meeting report. The guidelines development process and Expert Meeting were supported by the Government of the United States of America, Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) – FAO collaborative Trust Fund project “Cooperative Agreement on the United States of America Support for Fisheries and Aquaculture Department Activities” (GCP/GLO/576/USA). FAO technical assistance to the Expert Meeting and its preparations was provided by Mr Raymon van Anrooy, Ms Ingrid Giskes, Ms Duygu Maktav and Mr Pingguo He. Resource persons to the meeting were Mr Tim Werner and Mr Steven Kennelly. Formatting and publishing assistance was provided by Ms Estefanía Burgos, Ms Marianne Guyonnet and Ms Chorouk Benkabbour of FAO This report contains a record of the Expert Meeting, including short summaries of presentations and discussions. iv ABSTRACT The Expert Meeting to “Develop Technical guidelines to reduce bycatch of marine mammals in capture fisheries” was held in Rome, Italy, on 17–19 September 2019. Twenty-nine fisheries and bycatch experts and observers from FAO Members participated in the meeting: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Denmark, Iceland, Japan, Norway, Russian Federation, Sweden, and the United States of America. The meeting was also attended by experts from various regional and international organizations, including the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES), International Whaling Commission (IWC), North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission (NAMMCO), and NGOs, including Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC), and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The meeting aimed to prepare “Technical guidelines to reduce bycatch of marine mammals in capture fisheries” that are directed at decision-makers, planners, managers, and all those involved in developing and implementing policy and technical interventions relevant to the bycatch of marine mammals in fisheries. The meeting was organized by FAO in response to the request from the Committee on Fisheries at its 33rd Session in 2018 to develop technical guidelines on this subject. At the meeting the experts reviewed and discussed technical measures that can be applied for the reduction of bycatch of marine mammals in fisheries, including: time-area closures, acoustic deterrents, modifications to fishing gears and changes in fishing operations. The meeting discussed research and development needs for reducing bycatch of marine mammals and drivers of change. The meeting also discussed the roles of various stakeholders (national governments, regional and international organizations, fishers and their organizations and non-governmental organizations) in terms of development and implementation of the technical measures proposed, and with respect to awareness raising, communication and capacity building. Moreover, the meeting reviewed a draft decision tree that aims to facilitate fisheries managers on the process to follow in the management of bycatch of marine mammals in fisheries. v CONTENTS Preparation of this document ................................................................................................................. iii Abstract .................................................................................................................................................. iv Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 1 Opening of the Meeting .......................................................................................................................... 1 Presentation and discussion of the draft technical guidelines chapters ................................................... 2 Conclusions and recommendations of the Meeting ................................................................................ 5 Adoption of the report ............................................................................................................................. 6 Appendix A. Agenda .............................................................................................................................. 7 Appendix B. List of participants ............................................................................................................