News

In just over a week, from 9 to 13 December, the Society of Marine Mammalogy is holding its 20^th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals in Dunedin, New Zealand. This biennial conference, held every two years, is a gathering of marine mammal scientists from all over the world.

This year’s theme is “Marine Mammal Conservation: Science making a Difference”, and so far over 1000 attendees from more than 30 countries have been registered, executing 357 talks and over 400 poster presentations. Besides these planned activities, two large panel discussions will be held on Human Killing Methods and Scientific studies of Captive and Free-living Killer Whales, with the goal to provide an overview of the scientific data available on these topics, and to offer an opportunity for experts to discuss these matters.

NOAA Fisheries is using today’s modern technology to improve marine mammal conservation. They do so through the launch of 2 different smart phone apps.

The Dolphin & Whale 911 app was produced to enhance the accurate and timely reporting of stranded marine mammals in the Southearstern U.S. NOAA Fisheries has noticed over the years there is a general lack of awareness on how to report stranded marine mammals, which leads to delayed and inaccurate responses, compromising the animal’s chance of survival or limiting the amount of data that can be gathered from the already dead animals. NOAA Fisheries aims to facilitate the public’s response by providing valuable information on smartphones, including a colourful species identification guide, who to call in case of encountering a stranded marine mammal and what to do in first instance.

Specifically, the app allows you to

1. report dead, injured or entangled marine mammals by connecting you to the nearest stranding response hotline.
2. send a picture of the marine mammal along with GPS coordinates to the marine mammal stranding network.
3. identify the species by providing an electronic field guide of marine mammals found in the Southeast U.S.
4. help stranded marine mammals by providing a list of “do’s” & “don’ts” and tips on what to do.

This week the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Office of Protected Resources announced the publication of a new Technical Memorandum entitled National Standards for Protected Species Observer and Data Management Program: A model using geological and geophysical surveys. http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/publications/techmemos.htm.  

The document outlines recommendations for the development of national standards for Protected Species Observers (PSOs).  The report also provides recommendations for a national Data Management Program (PSO program). The improvements and suggestions for national standards in the US arose from a series of workshops that included representatives from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), NMFS, PSOs and the Geological and Geophysical Industry. The recommendations outlined in the report include those specific to the NMFS and the BSEE and these are listed as the following:

The third International Conference on "The Effects of Noise on Aquatic Life" brought together scientists, regulators, environmentalists and industry. The very latest scientific research was presented and current regulatory issues were discussed. Following its predecessors in Nyborg, 2007 and Cork, 2010, Aquatic Noise 2013 was a key event in shaping how aquatic noise pollution will be managed in the future.

The MMOA was represented by Phil Johnston who gave a short presentation on the MMO/PAM’s role in implementing mitigation in the field. An MMOA poster was also displayed and leaflets distributed, all raising awareness of the importance of the MMO/PAM role.