Evaluating Management Strategies for Marine Mammal Populations in Iceland

New research highlights the potential influence of the Import Provisions Rule of the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) on bycatch of marine mammal species vulnerable to population declines. In this study, researchers evaluated several management strategies in Iceland, one of the largest fishing countries in the North Atlantic, to understand how direct take (i.e., hunting) and indirect take (i.e., bycatch) impact populations of harbor porpoises, harbor seals, and grey seals.

Population projections under different management scenarios of the Atlantic cod fishery, the lumpfish fishery, and seal hunting, suggest that while harbor porpoise populations are likely to increase under current regulations, without also regulating the lumpfish fishery, neither seal species will recover to their maximum net productivity level. The study highlights the importance of considering multiple species and sectors when managing marine mammal bycatch and lays the groundwork for a management strategy evaluation to better achieve conservation goals.

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Reference

• Punt, A.E., Siple, M., Sigurðsson, G.M., Vikingsson, G., Francis, T.B., Granquist, S.M., Hammond, P.S., Heinemann, D., Long, K.J., Moore, J.E., Sepúlveda, M., Reeves, R.R., Wade, P.R., Williams, R., Zerbini, A.N. (2020). Evaluating management strategies for marine mammal populations: an example for multiple species and multiple fishing sectors in Iceland. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfas-2019-0386