Download WGMME 2015 Executive summary

WGMME 2015 Executive summary
New information on distribution and abundance of harbour porpoise available from
aerial surveys in the North Sea has been compiled and will be used in project DEPONS
(Disturbance Effects on the Harbour Porpoise Population in the North Sea) to identify
areas with high porpoise densities and to predict seasonal distribution and density.
New information on abundance and trends available for coastal bottlenose dolphins in
Scottish and Welsh waters in the UK, in waters west of Ireland, off the Normano-Breton
coast of France, and off the north coast of Spain has been collated together with new
information on sperm whales and short-finned pilot whales in the Canary Islands.
Updated or new information on distribution and abundance of several cetacean species
was available from extensive coastal and offshore surveys off France, mainland
Portugal and Madeira. Large-scale cetacean surveys are planned for the central and
eastern North Atlantic in summer 2015 (NASS), and in European Atlantic waters in
summer 2016 (SCANS-III). Plans for a Mediterranean cetacean survey continue to be
pursued.
New results on population structure, available for harbour porpoise and bottlenose
dolphin have been compiled. Satellite telemetry and static acoustic monitoring data
were used to assign boundaries between populations in the North Sea-Skagerrak, the
Belt Sea and the Baltic proper. New results from a genetic analysis of harbour porpoise
tissue from Iberia, northern Europe and Turkey indicate a level of differentiation of the
Iberian population that may warrant categorisation as a separate subspecies. New
results from genetic, stable isotope and diet studies indicate that bottlenose dolphin
population structure is hierarchical in the Northeast Atlantic, comprising coastal and
pelagic ecotypes. The coastal ecotype comprises a north and south population and
there are pelagic ecotypes in the Atlantic and Mediterranean. No new information was
available on management frameworks.
A threat matrix was completed for the main marine mammal species in each regional
seas area. While fishery bycatch is a significant concern, especially for harbour
porpoise, common dolphin, coastal bottlenose dolphin and ringed seal, contaminants
are also a major concern, especially for harbour porpoise, killer whale and bottlenose
dolphin. In the Baltic Sea, contaminants and habitat degradation are a serious concern
for all resident marine mammal species. In the Bay of Biscay/Iberian Peninsula and
Macaronesia, sonar is a significant threat to beaked whales, and in the former area fin
whale and sperm whale are threatened by collisions with shipping. The small
population of Mediterranean monk seal in Madeira is threatened by habitat
degradation, disturbance and deliberate killing. Text on marine mammals has been
provided for the ICES Ecosystem Overviews.
Where their distributions overlap, there is some evidence of negative ecological
interactions between harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) and grey seals (Halichoerus grypus).
There is spatial variation in their populations trajectories: in some regions both species
are increasing (e.g. Wadden Sea, Baltic Sea and Kattegat, Ireland, France) while in other
regions harbour seals are declining while grey seal numbers are on the rise (e.g. North
Sea, Orkney, Sable Island). Potential interactions (at-sea distribution, competition for
prey, haul-out site use, and predation of harbour seals by grey seals) were reviewed.
Recent evidence of direct predation of harbour seals by grey seals in the North Sea was
highlighted, as well as evidence of predation of harbour porpoises by grey seals in the
same region.
The ICES seals database was updated with limited data from few countries. It is
anticipated that the database will be fully updated in 2015 to contribute to OSPAR’s
Intermediate Assessment in 2017.
Marine mammals have been included in whole ecosystem models (e.g. EwE) and in
minimum realistic models (e.g. GADGET), among others, in studies principally
focused on trophic relationships, resource competition between fisheries and marine
mammals, and consequences for fish stocks. There is the potential to add fishery
bycatch mortality of marine mammals to such models although few examples exist
where this has been done. Other types of biological interaction (e.g. parasite
transmission) have been less well covered. All models have limitations and some kind
of validation exercise is essential to confer credibility on the predictions.