Review of the Effectiveness of Recovery Activities for North Atlantic right whales

Review of Recovery activities

Review of the Effectiveness of Recovery Activities for North Atlantic right whales (PDF, 1.69 MB)

5. Review of Recovery activities

5.1. Recovery Objectives

This review considers recovery activities to address each recovery objective outlined in the North Atlantic right whale Recovery Strategy (DFO 2014). The Recovery Strategy describes seven objectives to achieve recovery:

Reduce mortality and injury as a result of vessel strikes;
Reduce mortality and injury as a result of fishing-gear interactions (entanglement and entrapment);
Reduce injury and disturbance as a result of vessel presence or exposure to contaminants and other forms of habitat degradation;
Monitor population and threats;
Increase understanding of life history characteristics, low reproductive rate, habitat, and threats to recovery through research;
Support and promote collaboration for recovery between government agencies, academia, environmental non-government groups, Aboriginal groups, coastal communities, and international agencies and bodies; and,
Develop and implement education and stewardship activities that promote recovery.

Objectives 1-3 directly address reducing identified threats to North Atlantic right whales. Objectives 4-7 describe research and monitoring approaches that could further contribute to addressing threats, but only indirectly. As this review is focused on assessing effectiveness of recovery activities that directly reduce threats to North Atlantic right whales, only measures listed under Objectives 1-3 are evaluated (Section 6), while other relevant measures listed under Objectives 4-7 are considered separately (Section 7).

5.2. Threats

To review the effectiveness of recovery activities towards achieving the interim recovery goal, the efficacy of the measures towards reducing threats to the population was considered. The Recovery Strategy identifies three major threats to North Atlantic right whales: vessel strikes, fishing-gear entanglement, and disturbance and habitat degradation. The latter is further divided into four threats: contaminants, acoustic disturbance, vessel-presence disturbance, and changes in food supply (DFO 2014). Recovery activities to address these threats are considered in this review.

5.3. Review of Recovery activities

To address identified threats to North Atlantic right whales, several conservation initiatives and recovery activities have been implemented throughout Canada and the USA, and are presented in Table 1 and discussed in more detail in Section 6. In some cases, recovery activities implemented prior to 2005 are also discussed as they highlight important accomplishments or recovery activities that were unsuccessful in reducing threats.

Table 1. Recovery activities since 2005 that have been or are currently being implemented within Canada (the main focus of this review) and in some cases the USA and internationally (in italics) to address North Atlantic right whale recovery objectives. The broad strategies presented were obtained from the Recovery Strategy (DFO 2014). “Threat(s) Addressed” lists the relevant threats for each recovery activity; “indirectly” indicates that the listed threats are only indirectly addressed by the recovery activity. “Status” refers to the progress towards completion of each recovery activity, assigned as”Not yet initiated” (recovery activity has not yet begun). “Partially Completed” (some work has been done but further work is required), “Completed” (no further work is required), “Ongoing” (if the work is underway and continuous), or “Unknown” (at the time of this review there was no information available to assess the status of the recovery activities). The majority of the achievements are listed in the Progress Report (DFO 2016b). Note that several of the recovery activities could be listed under multiple objectives, but to reduce repetition are only listed once under the objective to which they are likely most relevant.

Broad strategy	Summarized recovery activity	Threat(s) addressed	Status	Achievements
Objective 1: Reduce mortality and injury as a result of vessel strikes
Better understand the relationship between vessel activity and North Atlantic right whales by evaluating the risk of vessel collision based on analysis of all available data on seasonal and inter-annual distribution of North Atlantic right whales and vessel traffic in Canadian waters.	Research to estimate and reduce the risk of lethal vessel collisions	Vessel strikes (indirectly)	Partially completed	Estimated relative risk of lethal vessel strikes in Roseway Basin and the Bay of Fundy (Vanderlaan et al. 2008) Developed a method to measure the probability of encounter between North Atlantic right whales and vessels and to quantitatively assess vessel routing options to reduce risk of vessel strikes (Vanderlaan et al. 2009) Developed a model to assess the probability of a lethal vessel strike (van der Hoop et. al. 2012) Estimated relative risk of lethal vessel strikes in the Bay of Fundy (2015) and examined changes in risk associated with implementing speed restrictions and moving the TSS outside the Grand Manan Basin critical habitat (Vanderlaan and Brown, unpublished data)
Consider, evaluate, and implement management strategies that reduce the amount of overlap, in time and space, of vessel activity and North Atlantic right whales (advisories, routing, and speed reductions)	Implement Roseway Basin Area to be Avoided (ATBA)	Vessel strikes, acoustic disturbance, vessel-presence disturbance	Completed	A recommendatory seasonal ATBA that seeks voluntary compliance to re-route vessels around Roseway Basin was adopted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and implemented by Canada (Vanderlaan et al. 2008 and references therein)
Consider, evaluate, and implement management strategies that reduce the amount of overlap, in time and space, between vessel activity and North Atlantic right whales (advisories, routing, and speed reductions) - continued	Monitor compliance with the Roseway Basin ATBA	Vessel strikes, acoustic disturbance, vessel-presence disturbance (indirectly)	Ongoing	Vessel Avoidance and Conservation Area Transit Experiment (VACATE) and Marine Stewardship Recognition Program initiated to evaluate compliance with the ATBA (Vanderlaan and Taggart 2009) Monitor vessel compliance with the ATBA (Vanderlaan and Taggart 2009; Brown et al. unpublished ^{Footnote 1}) Improve compliance with the ATBA via direct communication with vessel operators navigating the region (Brown et al. unpublished1)
	Amend Traffic Separation Schemes (TSS) to reduce the co-occurrence with areas frequented by North Atlantic right whales	Vessel strikes, acoustic disturbance, vessel-presence disturbance	Partially completed	Implemented a change to the Boston TSS to avoid large aggregations of whales; adopted by IMO and implemented by USA (IMO 2006a) Evaluated the change in relative risk of lethal vessel strikes as a result of the shifted TSS to inform further refinement of TSS to reduce risk of vessel strikes (IMO 2006b, Merrick et. al. 2007 ^{Footnote 2}) Modified existing lanes to reduce the threat of vessel strike; adopted by IMO and implemented by USA (IMO 2008a)
	Design and recommend voluntary ship traffic routes	Vessel strikes, acoustic disturbance, vessel-presence disturbance (indirectly)	Partially Completed	Implemented alternative voluntary seasonal ship traffic routes off the coasts of Georgia and Florida, and in Cape Cod Bay, to reduce vessel traffic in areas frequented by North Atlantic right whales (NOAA 2006) Evaluated the change in relative risk of lethal vessel strike as a result of implementing the voluntary ship traffic routes off Georgia and Florida (Lagueux et. al. 2011)
	Implement the Great South Channel ATBA in the USA	Vessel strikes, acoustic disturbance, vessel-presence disturbance	Completed	A recommendatory seasonal ATBA that seeks voluntary compliance to re-route vessels away from critical habitat adopted by the IMO and implemented by the USA (IMO 2008a) Evaluated the change in relative risk of lethal vessel strikes as a result of the ATBA implementation by the USA (Merrick et. al. 20072)
Consider, evaluate, and implement management strategies that reduce the amount of overlap, in time and space, between vessel activity and North Atlantic right whales (advisories, routing, and speed reductions) - continued	Implement Seasonal Management Areas (SMAs) to restrict vessel speed in areas frequented by North Atlantic right whales	Vessel strikes, potentially acoustic disturbance	Partially completed	Implemented vessel speeds restrictions to no more than 10 knots in various areas off eastern USA to reduce the probability of a lethal injury in the event of a vessel striking a large whale (NOAA 2008a, NOAA 2013)
	Measure compliance with the SMAs in the USA	Vessel strikes, potentially acoustic disturbance (indirectly)	Partially completed	Evaluated vessel compliance to the mandatory speed restrictions within the SMAs (Silber et. al. 2014)
Collaborate with shipping interests and operators about ways in which they can, through measurable voluntary action, reduce the number/frequency of interactions between North Atlantic right whale and vessel operations	Promote awareness among mariners of high concentrations of whales and educate on mitigation measures	Vessel strikes, acoustic disturbance, vessel-presence disturbance (indirectly)	Ongoing	Updated navigational charts used by mariners to include the coordinates of Grand Manan and Roseway Basin critical habitats, the amended TSS, and the ATBA Updated Annual Notice to Mariners (NOTMAR) to include information on critical habitat and best practises for maneuvering vessels when whales are present (https://www.notmar.gc.ca/annual-annuel-en.php) Produced a Mariner's Guide to Whales in the Northwest Atlantic (ROMM 2014)
	Implement a near real-time alert system to inform mariners of the presence of a North Atlantic right whale	Vessel strikes, acoustic disturbance, vessel-presence disturbance	Partially completed	A near real-time alert system "Whale Alert" was developed as a smart phone app to alert mariners to the acoustic detections of North Atlantic right whales in the Boston TSS. An updated version of the app included acoustic detections in other locations and the ability to report sightings, including dead or distressed whales, an expanded region including Canadian waters, and developed in both French and English (http://www.whalealert.org/) A near real-time alert Canadian system is under development in eastern Canada to relay positions of visually or acoustically detected whales to mariners within the vicinity via Automated Identification System (AIS) messages (C. Taggart, personal communication)
Objective 2: Reduce mortality and injury as a result of fishing gear interactions (e.g., entanglement and entrapment)
Evaluate, promote, and/or implement strategies that will reduce the potential for harmful interactions between fishing gear and North Atlantic right whales	Research to estimate and reduce the risk of lethal fishing gear entanglements	Fishing-gear entanglements (indirectly)	Partially completed	Estimated the risk of lethal fishing gear entanglements in Grand Manan and Roseway Basin critical habitats and identified possible area-specific seasonal closures for some fisheries to reduce the threat and risk to whales without unduly compromising fishing interest (Vanderlaan et al. 2011) Estimated the risk of lethal fishing gear entanglements in the Bay of Fundy, on the Scotian Shelf and in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence and identified possible measures to reduce the likelihood of entanglement in fixed fishing gear through spatial and temporal closures (Brillant et al. 2017) DFO is also estimating lethal entanglement risk to North Atlantic right whales in Atlantic Canada from fixed fishing gear fisheries
	Conduct research on interactions between North Atlantic right whales and fishing gear	Fishing-gear entanglements (indirectly)	Partially completed	Examined contemporary trap settings used by Bay of Fundy lobster fishery and concluded that existing trap-settings minimized slack in the lobster groundlines below a hypothesized entanglement threat elevation of 3m (Brillant and Trippel 2010) Examined the types of gear involved in North Atlantic right whale entanglements (Johnson et al. 2005) Analysed 132 ropes retrieved from 70 whale entanglements in the USA and Atlantic Canadian waters and concluded that increased rope strength has contributed to increased severity of North Atlantic right whale entanglements; recommended ropes with reduced breaking strengths to be developed and tested in fixed gear fisheries (Knowlton et al. 2015)
	Develop and implement voluntary standard practices and mitigation strategies to address interactions between North Atlantic right whales and fishing gear	Fishing-gear entanglements	Partially completed	In LFAs 33 and 34, industry led an initiative to reduce the amount of slack rope in the water column and report whale sightings to fishing vessels Voluntary standard practices have been developed in Lobster Fishing Areas (LFAs) 33, 34, 36, 37, 38, and 41 Offshore lobster fishery on the Scotian Shelf developed voluntary standard practices to reduce the risk of entanglement as part of their Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification conditions Grand Manan Fisherman's Association operating in LFAs 36, 37, and 38, in partnership with Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), conducted aerial surveys at the beginning of lobster seasons; fishers reported sightings and were instructed not to deploy or haul gear in the presence of North Atlantic right whales Fundy North Fisherman's Association began an ongoing project that started in 2011 to remove "ghost gear" from the Bay of Fundy Scotia-Fundy Fixed Gear Groundfish Advisory Council developed Voluntary Standard practices The Integrated Fisheries Management Plan (2013) for the snow crab fishery in the Maritimes Region acknowledges the potential risk of interactions with North Atlantic right whales and fisheries observers are required to monitor and report on interactions with North Atlantic right whales
Evaluate, promote, and/or implement strategies that will reduce the potential for harmful interactions between fishing gear and North Atlantic right whales - continued	Amend and implement changes to the fishing area boundaries, season, gear modifications to reduce entanglement risk	Fishing gear entanglements	Partially completed	DFO is developing an amendment to the Fisheries Act Regulations Section 27: Identification of Fishing Gear, which currently requires both ends of fixed gear to be marked; the amendment will permit the use of a single tag, float or buoy in approved fisheries Extends Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan (ALWTRP) gear modifications for all regulated areas along the east coast of the USA (Maine to Florida) to the eastern edge of the EEZ; requires weak links of appropriate breaking strength Implement broad-based sinking groundline requirements for all trap/pot fisheries in all ALWTRP-regulated trap/pot waters. Broad-Based Sinking Groundline Requirement
Support emergency response and disentanglement programs	Respond to marine mammal emergencies	Fishing-gear entanglements and vessel strikes	Ongoing	In Newfoundland and Labrador, the Whale Release and Strandings Group is authorized by DFO to disentangle cetaceans and sea turtles caught in fishing gear or stranded on the coastline In Atlantic Canada and in Québec, several regional response networks, including Marine Animal Response Society (MARS), are in place to respond to marine mammals that are dead or in distress, coordinate multiple partners in response efforts, and conduct hands-on responses In the Bay of Fundy, the Campobello Whale Rescue Team leads disentanglement efforts for North Atlantic right whales DFO C&P Officers conduct patrols to verify sightings of dead and distressed North Atlantic right whales and respond to reports of entangled or stranded marine mammals Transport Canada pollution patrol flights and the Department of National Defence offshore patrols provide visual coverage of offshore areas and have provided high-resolution imagery of dead North Atlantic right whales to try to ascertain cause of death, identity, and sex Several agencies in the USA also respond to marine mammal emergencies and attempt to disentangle North Atlantic right whales
Support emergency response and disentanglement programs - continued	Maintain and increase capacity for disentanglement response	Fishing-gear entanglements	Ongoing	DFO's national Marine Mammal Response Program (MMRP) continues to support and coordinate responses to incidents of marine mammals in distress such as entanglement or strandings MMRP provides resources and equipment in support of incident response in Atlantic Canada MMRP provided disentanglement training to DFO (C&P) Officers Members of the MARS have taken disentanglement training to increase disentanglement capacity in the Maritimes Grand Manan Whale and Seabird Research Station (GMWSRS) developed and prepared a manual detailing how to release entrapped whales from herring weirs
Collaborate with fishers to enhance in which they can reduce the number/frequency of interactions between North Atlantic right whales and fishing operations	Develop and implement voluntary codes of practice and data logging to be promoted by whale-watching companies	Fishing-gear entanglements (indirectly)	Partially completed	GMWSRS promoted the use of the Voluntary Fishing Code for people working around large whales in the Bay of Fundy and promoted the use of trip record for whale-watching companies to record species observed
	Perform awareness education and outreach to the fishing industry	Fishing-gear entanglements (indirectly)	Ongoing	DFO presents educational materials and information regarding species at risk to several fishing industry advisory councils including the Scotia-Fundy Groundfish Advisory Council, the Scotia-Fundy Herring Advisory Council, the Hagfish Advisory Council, the Shrimp Advisory Council part of the North Atlantic right whale Fisheries Mitigation Working Group DFO provides emergency contact information for marine mammal incidents (e.g., MARS contact information) to fishers Quebec-Labrador Foundation prepared and distributed identification charts of marine species to fishers and professional fishery organizations in 2012
Evaluate and minimize the effects of all new and expanding fisheries on right whales	No specific activities identified		Unknown	The exploratory whelk fishery was excluded from Roseway Basin as a condition of the 2014 fishery licence
Objective 3: Reduce injury and disturbance as a result of vessel presence or exposure to contaminants and other forms of habitat degradation
Evaluate and reduce the harmful impacts of dangerous substances on North Atlantic right whale habitat including both natural and human-induced sources	Determine the presence of certain chemicals in North Atlantic right whales	Contaminants (indirectly)	Ongoing	The occurrence of paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) toxins in North Atlantic right whales in the Bay of Fundy was measured from fecal samples and it was suggested that PSP toxin-producing Alexandrium pose a threat to the North Atlantic right whales (Doucette et al. 2006) It was demonstrated that organochlorine pesticides and various brominated flame retardants were present in North Atlantic right whales; further research is needed to monitor these substances (Montie et al. 2010)
Evaluate and reduce impacts from existing or future human induced noise in right whale habitats and reduce harmful levels of exposure	Conduct research on the potential impact of vessel noise on North Atlantic right whales	Acoustic disturbance (indirectly)	Partially completed	Opportunistic study that evaluated stress hormones in right whales in relation to vessel noise demonstrated that vessel noise causes measurable stress in North Atlantic right whales (Rolland et al. 2012)
	Conduct research on the potential impact of seismic airgun noise on North Atlantic right whales	Acoustic disturbance (indirectly)	Partially completed	Acoustic data was collected in Roseway Basin during Shell's 2013 western Scotian Shelf seismic survey; presence of right whale calls were analyzed; data could contribute to an assessment of ambient and anthropogenic noise levels within the North Atlantic right whale critical habitat during the seismic surveys once analyzed
	Develop guidelines to reduce vessel-noise emissions	Acoustic disturbance (indirectly)	Partially completed	IMO guidelines have been developed that provide some practical measures to reduce shipping noise, including noise generated by the propeller which is the main source of underwater noise associated with vessels (IMO 2014)
	Ensure North Atlantic right whales have been considered for Environmental Assessments and Strategic Environmental Assessments	Acoustic disturbance (indirectly)	Ongoing	Seven strategic environmental assessments have been completed for large areas of the Scotian Shelf and Slope which consider North Atlantic right whales Two project specific environmental assessments were completed for seismic exploration programs on the Scotian Shelf and Slope that considered North Atlantic right whales and potential impacts on the Roseway Basin critical habitat North Atlantic right whales were considered in environmental assessments completed for Bay of Fundy tidal turbine projects
Evaluate and reduce impacts from existing or future human induced noise in right whale habitats and reduce harmful levels of exposure - continued	Develop guidelines to reduce noise impacts on right whales	Acoustic disturbance (indirectly)	Partially completed	DFO conducted a science advisory process to review mitigation for seismic airgun noise and its impacts on at-risk whale species; identified sound exposure criteria, whether current practices were adequate for avoiding harm to whales and critical habitat, and additional mitigation and monitoring measures (DFO 2015) The National Marine Fisheries Service compile, interpreted, and synthesize the scientific literature to produce acoustic thresholds for onset of temporary and permanent threshold shifts (NFMS 2016)
Evaluate and reduce disturbance associated with vessel presence	Amend the Marine Mammal Regulations to reduce the threat of vessel presence	Vessel-presence disturbance, acoustic disturbance	Partially Completed	The Marine Mammal Regulations under the Fisheries Act are being considered for amendment to provide regulatory tools for effective management of non-harvest resource users and impacts (i.e., whale watching); the amendments include a general approach distance for vessels
	Monitor compliance with Marine Mammal Regulations	Vessel-presence disturbance, acoustic disturbance (indirectly)	Ongoing	C&P Officers monitor whale-watching vessels to ensure the operators are not disturbing the marine mammals
	Promote awareness among mariners and whale-watching companies and educate on mitigation measures and voluntary best practices	Vessel-presence disturbance (indirectly)	Ongoing	Marine Mammal Enforcement Advisory Committee was established in southwest New Brunswick and focuses on education of the whale-watching community to avoid harassment of North Atlantic right whales Annual NOTMAR provides updates to include information on critical habitat and best practices for vessels when whales are present GMWSRS worked with industry to keep the profile of North Atlantic right whales high and promote best practices for whale watching tour operators
No broad strategies in Recovery Strategy identified	Study the impact of human activities on North Atlantic right whale food supply	Changes in food supply (indirectly)	Ongoing	DFO researchers have developed habitat models for Calanus that can be used to predict effects of climate change in Atlantic Canadian waters and can support development of ecosystem-based advice (Albouy-Boyer et al. 2016)
Objective 4: Monitor population and threats
Promote and conduct regular monitoring of North Atlantic right whales throughout Canadian waters and in particular in known habitat areas	Conduct visual and acoustic surveys and monitor the North Atlantic right whale population	All threats (indirectly)	Ongoing	DFO conducted two large scale aerial surveys throughout eastern Canada; the Trans North Atlantic Sightings Survey in 2007 (Lawson and Gosselin 2009), and a North Atlantic International Survey for marine mammals in 2016; all whale sightings including North Atlantic right whales were recorded DFO Quebec conducts three large-scale visual boat-based surveys each year in the Gulf of St. Lawrence since 2015, using DFO large research vessels as a platform of opportunity North Atlantic right whale critical habitat in the Bay of Fundy was surveyed (vessel based) during DFO 'shoulder' season in October 2013 Transport Canada pollution patrol flights and Department of National Defence offshore patrols provide visual coverage of offshore areas and have provided high-resolution imagery of living and dead whales Canadian Whale Institute (CWI) conducts boat-based surveys in Roseway Basin and the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence As part of various research projects, the Taggart Lab (Oceanography, Dalhousie University) has conducted both visual boat-based surveys for Roseway basin and acoustic surveys in various areas of eastern Canada using autonomous gliders Passive acoustic monitoring using bottom-mounted acoustic recorders has been and is being used by various DFO researchers, Dalhousie University researchers, JASCO Applied Sciences, Eastern Charlotte Waterways and others to investigate distribution, seasonal occurrence and habitat use of North Atlantic right whales throughout Atlantic Canada Grand Manan Whale and Seabird Research Station (GMWSRS) contributed to long-term North Atlantic right whale population monitoring by collecting sighting data from whale-watching vessels DFO maintains sightings databases to collect and archive whale sightings data including information on North Atlantic right whales DFO initiated an outreach program to seek information from the public about sightings of North Atlantic right whales outside critical habitats, posters were also distributed on wharves, community bulletin boards, Coast Guard vessels, ferries, whale-watching companies, and DFO area offices in Atlantic Canada and Quebec The New England Aquarium (NEAq) continues leading its long term population study in Atlantic Canadian Waters NEAq continues to maintain a long-term photo-identification program and continues to collect samples of skin, blubber, feces, and blow to be used in various research projects NOAA conducts aerial surveys and research by vessel and aircraft A study investigated call types of mother-calf pairs to be used in passive acoustic monitoring (Parks et al. 2014) The North Atlantic right whale Consortium manages access to North Atlantic right whale databases, including a sightings database, photo-identification database, genetics database, contaminants, health assessment, necropsy, blubber management and blubber archive
Promote and conduct regular monitoring of North Atlantic right whales throughout Canadian waters and in particular in known habitat areas - continued	Monitor presence and condition of North Atlantic right whale carcasses	All threats (indirectly)	Ongoing	DFO is gathering marine mammal entanglement and mortality information from imagery collected during routine patrol flights by Transport Canada and DFO C&P officers
	Investigate potential North Atlantic right whale mating grounds	All threats (indirectly)	Partially completed	A study suggesting that the central Gulf of Maine is the mating grounds for North Atlantic right whales was conducted (Cole et al. 2013)
Promote and conduct regular monitoring of existing and emerging threats	Conduct research to describe the warming trends in the Bay of Fundy	Changes in food supply (indirectly)	Partially completed	Warming trends in the Bay of Fundy were described based on pop-up satellite tags deployed on basking sharks (Koopman et al. 2014)
	Conduct research to estimate the annual number of vessel strikes	Vessel strikes (indirectly)	Partially completed	Vanderlaan et al. (2009) estimated a 60% chance of observing at least one North Atlantic right whale death per year from vessel strikes prior to the implementation of recovery activities; when these estimates were adjusted for undetermined causes of death and unobserved deaths there was a 10-fold increase in the expected annual number of fatal vessel strikes
	Conduct research to estimate the effects of the Roseway Basin ATBA on the expected number of vessel strikes	Vessel strikes (indirectly)	Completed	It was estimated that the Roseway Basin ATBA resulted in an 82% reduction in the per capita rate of lethal vessel strikes and vessel strike rates would decrease from one lethal vessel strike every 0.8-2 years (prior to implementation) to one every 41 years (van der Hoop et al. 2012)
	Assess the scarring rates due to fishing-gear entanglements	Fishing-gear entanglements (indirectly)	Ongoing	Photographs of North Atlantic right whales for the period 1980-2009 were used to determine scarring rates and to identify that juveniles were entangled at a higher rate than adults; 83% of the population had been entangled at least once (Knowlton et al. 2012)
Promote and conduct regular monitoring of existing and emerging threats - continued	Assess the mitigation measures implemented to reduce anthropogenic effects to large whales	Vessel strikes, fishing-gear entanglements (indirectly)	Ongoing	A study concluded that the regulatory efforts implemented have not reduced the lethal effects of human activities on large whales (van der Hoop et al. 2013)
	Assess the additional energy requirements due to fishing-gear entanglements	Fishing-gear entanglements (indirectly)	Partially completed	A method was established to predict drag forces due to entanglement to evaluate when to assist with disentanglement actions (van der Hoop et al. 2016)
	Evaluate the effectiveness of gear modifications to reduce fishing-gear entanglements	Fishing-gear entanglements	Partially completed	The effectiveness of ALWTRP from 1999-2009 was evaluated and it was concluded that measures were generally ineffective in reducing North Atlantic right whale deaths attributable to fishing-gear entanglements (Pace et al. 2014)
	Develop techniques to monitor the health of individuals	All threats (indirectly)	Ongoing	A method to genetically identify individual North Atlantic right whales from samples of feces was developed and has increased the number of genetic profiles available for further research (Gillett et al. 2010) North Atlantic right whale genetics database is maintained initially by Trent University and then by St. Mary's University
Support necropsies of dead animals in Canadian waters to help identify and evaluate the effects of human activities	Perform necropsies	All threats (indirectly)	Ongoing	Since 2006 full necropsies were performed on three of the nine dead North Atlantic right whales found in Canadian waters
	Develop protocols for responding strandings and beachings of marine mammals	All threats (indirectly)	Ongoing	MARS developed set of detailed response protocols for live and dead cetacean strandings and produced resource material distributed with training Regional marine mammal response networks and the Canadian Wildlife Federation formed a National Stranding Network Committee to maintain and improve the operations of regional emergency response networks, foster consistency in response standards, among all regions of Canada, and to encourage collaboration and knowledge sharing
Objective 5: Increase understanding of North Atlantic right whale life history characteristics, low reproductive rate, habitat and threats to recovery through research
Promote and conduct research on North Atlantic right whale life history, historical abundance, habitat requirements, and distribution	Conduct research on North Atlantic right whale critical habitat and food resources within critical habitat	Changes in food supply (indirectly)	Ongoing	Several studies have been conducted on North Atlantic right whale food in the Bay of Fundy critical habitat (Michaud and Taggart 2007, 2011) and in the Roseway Basin critical habitat (Davies et al. 2013, 2014, 2015a, 2015b) DFO is modelling Calanus hotspots to aid prediction of potential North Atlantic Right Whale feeding grounds in the eastern Gulf of Maine, Scotian Shelf, and Gulf of St. Lawrence
	Conduct research on North Atlantic Right whale movements and distribution	All threats (indirectly)	Partially completed	A movement model was used to estimate individual movement patterns and spatial probability distributions to produce monthly estimates of movement and distribution patterns in the Northwest Atlantic (Brillant et al. 2015)
	Identify ecologically and biologically significant areas (EBSAs) within the North Atlantic right whale range in Atlantic Canada	All threats (indirectly)	Partially completed	North Atlantic right whale critical habitat has been identified as EBSAs and is being incorporated into Marine Protected Area (MPA) network planning. DFO has identified several Areas of Interest for future designation of MPAs within the distributional range of North Atlantic right whales
Promote and conduct research to further understand the factors limiting reproductive success	Conduct research on right whale health at various life stages	All threats (indirectly)	Ongoing	A state-space model that provides estimates of movement, health, and survival of North Atlantic right whales has been developed (Schick et al. 2013); this model was refined and used to examine the health of the population over the last 20 years (Rolland et al. 2016) The energetic cost associated with fishing-gear entanglements was estimated (van der Hoop et al. 2016)
Conduct research and analysis to further understand or refine critical habitat in Roseway Basin, and to evaluate the potential of identification of critical habitat in other areas	Conduct research to refine Roseway Basin critical habitat	All threats (indirectly)	Completed	Davies et al. (2014) provided scientific support for expanding the critical habitat on Roseway Basin based on food availability and oceanographic conditions
	Conduct research on potential forging areas and potential suitable habitat for right whales	All threats (indirectly)	Ongoing	DFO Maritime and Quebec regions are studying the variability of zooplankton presence in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and on the Scotian Shelf to identify potential habitat for right whales DFO Maritimes and Newfoundland and Labrador regions are conducting research on suitable habitat for cetacean species, including North Atlantic right whales, through the use of species distribution models
Promote and conduct research of existing and emerging threats and effectiveness of mitigation measures	Activities identified under other objectives			Achievements listed elsewhere in the table as recovery activities can address multiple objectives
Objective 6: Support and promote collaboration for recovery between government agencies, academia, environmental non-government groups, Aboriginal groups, coastal communities and international agencies and bodies
Promote collaboration and coordination among decision makers and levels of government to foster joint conservation efforts and communications surrounding North Atlantic right whale conservation	Review and provide SARA permits as appropriate	All threats (indirectly)	Ongoing	DFO evaluates research and other activities and if they determine if that they do not jeopardize the survival and recovery of North Atlantic right whales then they can receive a permit
Promote the involvement of Aboriginal peoples and perspective in recovery activities	Develop poster campaign to identify new North Atlantic right whale aggregations	All threats (indirectly)	Partially completed	Maritime Aboriginal Peoples Council distributed the sighting posters with every logbook they shipped to fishery licence holders in the Scotia-Fundy and Gulf regions
Continue to collaborate with government agencies in the United States of America on transboundary North Atlantic right whale initiatives	Participate in International Meetings	All threats (indirectly)	Ongoing	Continued and expanded representation from DFO at international meeting, workshops, and conference regarding North Atlantic right whales; recent meetings include the annual North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium meetings, Canada/USA Transboundary Resources Steering Committee Meetings, Canada-USA Species at Risk Working Group Meetings, Workshop on Trends and Threats to North Atlantic Right Whales, Marine Mammal Commission Meeting, and the ALWTRT Meeting, and annual DFO participation in the Atlantic Regional Scientific Review Group
Work with international bodies on North Atlantic right whale conservation issues of interest to Canada	Conduct field-work meetings to coordinate among research groups and share information on sightings	All threats (indirectly)	Ongoing	DFO Maritimes hosts semi-annual meetings for groups conducting field work in Canadian waters to facilitate coordination of efforts among research groups; daily sightings are also sent out field teams in the summer and autumn
	Review the role of the IMO to implemented recovery activities	Vessel strikes (indirectly)	Completed	Silber et al. (2012) reviewed the role of the IMO to implement recovery activities to protect whales from vessel strikes and concluded to pursue large whale conservation objectives
Work with international bodies on North Atlantic right whale conservation issues of interest to Canada - continued	Gather and summarise information on international law, political frameworks, and outreach initiatives in relation to North Atlantic right whale	Vessel strikes, fishing-gear entanglements, and contaminants (indirectly)	Completed	Duff et al. (2013) summarized information on the threats to North Atlantic right whales, international laws, international groups' roles in recovery, outreach initiatives, and recovery activities implemented
Support the maintenance of an ongoing multi-stakeholder advisory body in which to discuss right whale conservation and recovery issues	Establish and maintain the right whale recovery network	All threats (indirectly)	Ongoing	Right whale recovery network was established to seek vital guidance for the development of the proposed Action Plan to address fisheries interactions Right whale recovery network also conducted a workshop to address all other threats identified in the Recovery Strategy
Engage coastal communities and resource user groups in discussions and collaborations to foster right whale recovery and promote the gathering of knowledge of right whales from interested groups	Obtain information commercial-fishing industry about gear	Fishing-gear entanglements (indirectly)	Ongoing	The North Atlantic right whale Fisheries Mitigation Working Group has developed and distributed questionnaires to gather information on the type of gear used in North Atlantic right whale habitat and migratory pathways
Objective 7: Develop and implement education and stewardship activities that promote recovery in Canada
Continue to expand, refine, and update programs to educate mariners about the problems facing North Atlantic right whales, available shore-based resources, and how changes to vessel operations will help address those problems.	Develop and provide a cetacean identification training program	All threats (indirectly)	Ongoing	DFO Maritimes region developed a cetacean identification training program and delivered training to commercial fishery observers, C&P Officers, Defense Research and Development Canada researchers and Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) bird observers DFO Newfoundland and Labrador region also offers a similar program for marine mammal observers aboard seismic vessels when requested MARS offered cetacean training, as well as live and dead cetacean response training across the Maritimes World Wildlife Fund provided live and dead cetacean identification training to at-sea observers in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland
Develop programs to educate the general public about North Atlantic right whale conservation strategies and stewardship actions	Develop a Marine Species Identification Guide Common to the Bay of Fundy and Scotia Shelf Region	All threats (indirectly)	Completed	DFO developed a marine animal identification key that was distributed to fishing industry, whale watching companies, C&P Officers, the Canadian Coast Guard, fisheries observers, and marine mammal observers (DFO 2013)
Develop programs to educate the general public about North Atlantic right whale conservation strategies and stewardship actions - continued	Develop websites with information about North Atlantic right whales	All threats (indirectly)	Ongoing	There are several websites that contain information on North Atlantic right whales including but not limited to: DFO has websites about species at risk including North Atlantic right whales The Canadian Whale Institute has a website that describes research and recovery efforts in Canada The GMWSRS website has general information about North Atlantic right whales and whales observed in the Bay of Fundy each year The MARS website includes information to help identify marine mammals The North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium website has a North Atlantic right whale information page NOAA's interactive North Atlantic right whale sightings map The New England Aquarium has a blog for communicating updates of their research activities including field work in Canadian waters
	Provide information on North Atlantic right whales and participate in outreach events	All threats (indirectly)	Ongoing	DFO Newfoundland and Labrador has a public outreach programme to collect sightings and distribute information about species at risk DFO presents information on North Atlantic right whales to the public and participates in annual Oceans Day Events GMWSRS hosted public lectures for tourists and produced "Right whale Stewards" booklet to middle schools and have also made presentations to university and high school students, whale camp groups, sea cadets, and student science fairs
Expand and refine collaboration efforts with fishing industry that promote best practices to reduce the number and severity of whale/fishing gear interactions	Review gear configuration to determine methods for minimising entanglement risk	Fishing-gear entanglements (indirectly)	Ongoing	DFO Newfoundland and Labrador has contract the Fish, Food, and Allied Workers Union (FFAW-Unifor) to review the development of trap mooring ropes with the goal of minimising entanglement risks for leatherback sea turtles and large whales
Promote a public reporting system for dead, stranded, injured, entangled, or entrapped right whales as part of the existing whale disentanglement program	Promote 24-hour hotlines	Vessel strikes and fishing-gear entanglements (indirectly)	Ongoing	In Atlantic Canada and in Québec, several regional response networks, including the Marine Mammal Emergency Response Network, and MARS provide widely-advertised 24-hour hotlines

Footnotes

Footnote 1

Brown, M.W., Taggart, C.T., and Vanderlaan, A.S.M. unpublished manuscript. Mitigation of vessel strikes of North Atlantic right whales in Canadian waters: development, implementation, monitoring, and stewardship. In prep. for Marine Policy.

Return to footnote 1 referrer

Footnote 2

The authors use a different definition of risk and do not incorporate the probability of a lethal injury in their risk calculations as in Vanderlaan et al. (2008) and Vanderlaan and Taggart (2009).

Return to footnote 2 referrer

Date modified:: 2018-03-15

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