Twelve countries were identified as having legislation that included mandatory cetacean bycatch/interaction reporting. The laws differ between the countries in terms of what size vessels have to report and what legally has to be included in the details. Below is a summary of the cetacean bycatch reporting laws for each country individually.
United States of America
The USA has a federal Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) that was established in 1972 (U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service International Affairs, n.d.). This act prohibits any take of marine mammals. Starting in 1994, under code § 1387, it became mandatory for all vessels fishing in a “Category I or II” fishery to apply for a “marine mammal authorization certificate” from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) fisheries department which allows the vessel to incidentally take marine mammals without being in violation of the MMPA, so long as they are abiding to other regulations (Legal Information Institute, n.d.). Category I “designates fisheries with frequent deaths and serious injuries [to marine mammals] incidental to commercial fishing” and Category II “designates fisheries with occasional deaths and serious injuries [to marine mammals]” (NOAA Fisheries, n.d.a). In addition, under this same code, it became mandatory for all fishing vessels to report any death or serious injury of a marine mammal during fishing activities within 48 hours of the incident (Legal Information Institute, n.d.). The reports must include the vessel identification, the information of the owner, the name of the fishery, and the information about the incident including the species of marine mammal, the type of injury, and the date, time, and location. In addition to the mandatory reporting, NOAA has five hotlines for the different regions of the country to report a marine mammal in distress, as well as a smartphone app (NOAA Fisheries, n.d.b).
Canada
Canada’s Fisheries Act, first established in 1985, later included Marine Mammal Regulations in 1993 (Government of Canada, 2020). These regulations govern the protection and harvest of marine mammals in Canadian waters. The regulations were further amended in 2018 to include Accidental Contact with Marine Mammals regulations. These regulations made it mandatory for all interactions between vehicles or fishing gear and marine mammals to be reported to the Minister of Fisheries or reported in a mandatory logbook, even if the animal did not appear to be injured or deceased (Government of Canada, 2018). The incidents should be reported no later than 48 hours after the end of a fishing trip and must include the type of vehicle and/or type of fishing gear involved, the vessel name and owner, and specific information about the incident including species of marine mammal, date, time, location, and condition of the animal (Fisheries and Oceans Canada, n.d.). In addition to this mandatory reporting, Canada has eight hotlines set up in different regions of the country to report incidents of marine mammal entanglement where the animal is in need of professional assistance (Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 2020).
Australia
Australia’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC) was implemented in 1999 (Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, n.d.a). Under this act, all cetaceans are listed as protected species and the rules for all Commonwealth fisheries state “all interactions with EPBC Act–listed species, whether authorized or not, must be reported to the Department of the Environment and Energy” (Australian Government Department of Agriculture and Water Resources, 2018). All Australian Commonwealth fisheries are managed by the government’s Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) which permits accredited fisheries to incidentally interact with protected species without it being a punishable offence under the EPBC, so long as these interactions are recorded in AFMA fishing logbook (AFMA, n.d.). An interaction includes “any physical contact a person, boat or gear has with a protected species”. In addition to incident reporting in logbooks, Australia also has nine agencies around the country which can be contacted in the event that a whale is witnessed entangled in fishing gear and is in need of professional assistance (Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, n.d.b).
New Zealand
New Zealand implemented a Marine Mammal Protection Act, similar to the Act in USA, in 1978. Section 16 of this Act was created in 1996 and covers “Reporting of accidental death or injuries” which states that any person who incidentally kills or injures a marine mammal while fishing must both record the incident in the official logbook and submit a written report to the fishery officer within 48 hours of returning to port (Parliamentary Counsel Office, 1978). The reports must include the location, species or animal description, and the circumstances of the event. Despite the Act covering deaths or injuries, the fisher logbook data collected by Fisheries New Zealand also contains reports of cetaceans caught alive and uninjured (Fisheries New Zealand, pers. comm. 13.05.2020). In addition to this mandatory reporting, the New Zealand Department of Conservation has a hotline to report marine mammals entangled in fishing gear and in distress (Department of Conservation, n.d.).
Sweden
Harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) are listed as a protected species in Sweden (Naturvårdsverket, 2016). Any porpoises which are found dead or incidentally killed in Sweden belong to the state and must be reported as stated in Article 33 of the Swedish Hunting Ordinance (1987:905) (Sverges Riksdag, n.d.). The regulations are specifically in place for harbour porpoises only and do not include any other cetacean species that could be seen in Swedish waters. According to the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management (SwAM) it is not mandatory for fishers to report harbour porpoise bycatch in fishing logbooks (Havs- och vattenmyndighetens, 2018), but they are legally required to report this bycatch to the police or directly to the Swedish Museum of Natural History which is commissioned by SwAM to collect such reports (Naturhistoriska riskmuseet – Peter Mortensen, 2020). The reports must include the location (including coordinates), date, length of the animal, estimated weight of the animal (if possible), and optionally the depth of the fishing gear and the type of fishing gear (Narturhistoriska riksmuseet – Katarina Loso, 2020). Upon approval by the Swedish Museum of Natural History, compensation of 1000 Swedish krona (ca. 14000ISK/100USD) is paid to anyone who collects and freezes a deceased harbour porpoise for their research (Narturhistoriska riksmuseet – Katarina Loso, 2019)
Finland
In Finland, Section 62 of the Finnish Fishing Act, first established in 1982, covers reporting of bycatch (Finlex, 2015). The legislation simply states that any bycatch of harbour porpoises must be immediately reported to the Finnish National Resources Centre. No other cetacean species are covered by this legislation, and it is not specified how the reports should be submitted. It is possible for bycatch to be recorded in logbooks and then the logbook information reported to the National Resources Centre, or it is possible to make an online report through the National Resource Centre webpage (Olli Loisa, pers. comm., 24 June 2020). The online report must include the name of the reporter or vessel, the date, time and location of the incident, the gender and age class of the animal (if known), and whether or not the animal was alive or deceased (Luonnonvarakeskus, n.d.).
Norway
Norway has “Regulations on position reporting and electronic reporting for Norwegian fishing and catching vessels” which state under § 10 and § 12 that vessels with a length of 15 m or more fishing in Norwegian waters must electronically report all catch, including bycatch of marine mammals, to the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries (Nærings- og fiskeridepartementet, 2009). This mandatory reporting began in 2011 (Fiskeridirektoratet, pers. comm, 15 April 2021). The information required in the reports includes date, time, position, fishing zone, species, gear damage, number of animals, and weight. Most reports also include the gear type (though it is only mandatory to report when using a trawl) and mesh size (though it is only mandatory to report when using a trawl, Danish seine, or seine) (Nærings- og fiskeridepartementet, 2009). For recreational fishers and vessels below 15m in length, they have the option to voluntarily use an app (“fritidsfiskeappen”) to report bycatch to the Directorate of Fisheries, but this is currently not mandatory by law (Fiskeridirektoratet, pers. comm., 09 July 2020)
Iceland
Iceland established the Fisheries Management Act in 1990. Under Article 17 of this Act it is stated that all catch must be recorded in special logbooks which are provided by and submitted to the Directorate of Fisheries (FAOLEX Database, 2006). This must include information about all cetaceans. This logbook reporting system became electronic in 2009 and under Article 3 of the “Regulation on registration and electronic submission of catch information” states that all marine mammal bycatch must be reported in the electronic logbook, including date, ship identification, fishing gear type, location, species and number of animals (Atvinnuvega- og nýsköpunarráðuneyti, 2020).
France
Mandatory reporting of cetacean bycatch is relatively new in France. In 2018, the country passed the “Decree of September 6, 2018 amending the Order of July 1, 2011 setting the list of marine mammals protected on national territory and the terms of their protection” which states that all marine mammal bycatch must be reported in fishing logbooks (electronic for vessels 12 m and larger and paper for smaller vessels) for the purpose of scientific research (Ministère de l'Agriculture et de l'Alimentation, 2018). This came into effect 1 January 2019. The logbook reports must include the date, species, number of animals, estimated weight of each animal, and if the animal was discarded in the sea (Tachoires et al., 2018).
South Korea
The Korean Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries has a “Notice on Conservation and Management of Whale Resources”. This Notice was created in accordance with the Fisheries Act and Fisheries Resource Management Act for the “preservation and management of cetacean resources” in Korean waters (Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, 2018). This notice states that any capture of a cetacean must be reported to the maritime police chief, regardless of if the animal was alive or died during the incident. If the bycatch is reported to the maritime police, the fishers can then legally sell the meat (Mills et al., 1997). Due to this, it is possible that “incidental” take in Korean waters may at times actually be intentional capture, which is then reported as bycatch in order to profit from the sales (Baker et al., 2006; Lukoschek et al., 2009). All Korean cetacean bycatch data is first confirmed by an inspector (South Korea Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, pers. comm. 08 May 2020) and is then reported to the International Whaling Commission (IWC). The available data in the progress reports include year, location, species, number of animals, life status of the animals, and fishing gear involved (IWC, n.d.).
Chile
In September 2012, Article 7 of the Chilean General Law for Fisheries and Aquaculture was amended to include law no. 20.625 “Law on Discards and Bycatch” (Subsecretaría de Pesca y Acuicultura, n.d.). Under this law, fishers are required to report bycatch of all marine mammals in vessel logbooks, which are electronic for commercial fishing vessels over 15 m and paper for artisanal vessels. The logbooks are collected by the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Service. The law states that all marine mammals are released when possible, and all reports of interaction incidents must include details about the vessel, location, date, number of animals caught, species, and life status (dead or alive) (Subsecretaría de Pesca y Acuicultura, pers. comm., 10 November 2020)
Japan
Since 2001, Article 91, Paragraph 2 of the Ministerial Ordinance on Fisheries Permits and Controls (in Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ordinance No. 5 of 1963) has included mandatory reporting of “baleen whale, etc.” bycatch in fixed fishing nets (Fisheries Agency Research Management Department, 2020; Institute for Cetacean Research, 2011). The law covers seven species of baleen whale and three species of toothed whale designated by the IWC. A bycatch report should be submitted for all incidents, including releasing the animal alive. A bycatch report must include date and location, species (including a photograph), type of set net fishery and permit number, and length, gender, evidence of lactation, and measurements of foetus (if the animal was deceased) (Institute for Cetacean Research, 2011). It is also required to take a DNA sample and send it for testing to the Institute of Cetacean Research if the animal will be used for consumption. Once these actions are completed, it is permitted to sell the whale meat or use it for personal consumption. The Japanese Fisheries Resources Conservation Law also includes an additional three species of baleen whale and one species of toothed whale that must be reported, for which possession and sale are prohibited (Institute for Cetacean Research, 2011).
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