Dear colleagues,

I hope everybody had a safe trip back home. Please, find below a new contribution on bycatch impact on humpback whales...

Ocean & Coastal Management
In Press, Accepted Manuscript -

Juan José Alava^a^,^b^,^,, Maria José Barragán^c^,^e, Judith Denkinger^d^,^e

^a	School of Resource & Environmental Management, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia V5A 1S6, Canada

^b	Fundación Ecuatoriana para el Estudio de Mamíferos Marinos (FEMM).Guayaquil, Ecuador

^c	Department of Geography. Memorial University of Newfoundland, 232 Elizabeth Avenue. St. John´s, NL, A1B 3X9. Canada

^d	Galápagos Institute for the Arts and Science (GAIAS), University San Francisco de Quito, Circulo de Cumbaya, Quito, Ecuador

^e	Nazca, Institute of Marine Research, Cabo San Francisco, Cantón Muisne, Ecuador

Received 8 March 2011; revised 6 October 2011; Accepted 5 November 2011. Available online 22 November 2011.

Abstract

The Southeastern Pacific Humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae reproduces from June to September off the coast of Ecuador where a large artisanal fisheries fleet consisting of more than 15,000 vessels operates year round. The bycatch impact on this humpback population has been overlooked. Based on the annual bycatch mortality documented in this study, about 0.53% (95% CI 0.2-1.5%) of the population might be potentially bycaught in gillnets annually. Depending on the total population numbers estimated and reported elsewhere for this stock (2917 or 6277 whales), the bycatch mortality is equivalent to 15 or 33 whales per year. A significant correlation was found between the annual bycatch rate and fishing effort for the period 2000-2009 (r = 0.68, p < 0.05). An increase in artisanal fisheries may cause drastic consequences since humpback whales as K-strategists have low birth and survival rates. Calves are probably the most threatened age class due to gillnet entanglements in proximity to coastal waters where artisanal vessels operate. The Ecuadorian breeding grounds for humpback whales migrating from Antarctica might become a hot spot for bycatch in the Southeastern Tropical Pacific, if the bycatch rate continues to increase. Urgent mitigation strategies coupled with precautionary management and conservation measures are required to protect this vulnerable stock of whales in the long term. The consequences of humpback whale bycatch off coastal Ecuador and possible solutions to mitigate the bycatch are analyzed.

Highlights

► Bycatch affects 15-33 humpback whales per year in coastal marine waters off Ecuador. ► An increase in fishery effort increases the bycatch rate of humpback whales. ► Best fishery practices and breeding area protection mitigate humpbacks’ bycatch. ► Precautionary actions can play an important role in conserving threatened cetaceans.

Keywords: Megaptera novaeangliae; Humpback whale population; Bycatch; Entanglements; Ecuador

If you would like an electronic pdf copy, please feel free to contact me (jalavasa@sfu.ca)

The articles is also available at:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0964569111001852

Cheers

Juan Jose Alava

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Author Services <support@elsevier.com>
To: jalavasa@sfu.ca; jj_alava@yahoo.com
Sent: Wednesday, November 23, 2011 11:02 AM
Subject: Article tracking [OCMA_2908] - Accepted manuscript available online (unedited version)

Article title: Assessing the impact of bycatch on Ecuadorian humpback whale breeding stock: a Review with Management Recommendations
Reference:: OCMA2908
Journal title: Ocean and Coastal Management
Corresponding author: Dr. Juan Jose Alava
First author: Dr. Juan Jose Alava
Received at Editorial Office: 8-MAR-2011
Article revised: 6-OCT-2011
Article accepted for publication: 5-NOV-2011
Accepted manuscript (unedited version) available online: 22-NOV-2011
DOI information: 10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2011.11.003

Dear Dr. Alava,

We are pleased to inform you that your accepted manuscript (unformatted and unedited PDF) is now available online at:

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2011.11.003

You might like to bookmark this permanent URL to your article.

This version of your article has been made available at the earliest stage to provide the fastest access to articles scheduled for inclusion in a forthcoming issue of the journal. It is not intended to be the published version of your article. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note changes to the article should not be requested at this stage.

This article can already be cited using the year of online availability and the DOI as follows: Author(s), Article Title, Journal (Year), DOI.

Once the full bibliographic details (including volume and page numbering) for citation purposes are available, you will be alerted by e-mail.

To track the status of your article throughout the publication process, please use our article tracking service:

http://authors.elsevier.com/TrackPaper.html?trk_article=OCMA2908&trk_surname=Alava

Yours sincerely,
Elsevier Author Support

---------------------------------------------------------------------

WHEN TO REQUEST CORRECTIONS?
You will shortly receive the proofs for review, at which point any required corrections can be returned. This includes changes to the title, author names and affiliations and the addition of acknowledgements.
When the proofs have been checked and returned, the status of your article will be updated accordingly in the article tracking service.

HAVE YOU SEEN THE ARTICLE OF THE FUTURE?
The Article of the Future makes Elsevier journals on SciVerse ScienceDirect the best possible place to expose and explore research. Elsevier is introducing the new article layout and features to all journals on SciVerse ScienceDirect from late 2011, but you can review the prototypes online now.

Find out more at: http://www.articleofthefuture.com

HAVE A QUERY?
We have 24/7 support to answer all of your queries quickly.
http://support.elsevier.com

SENDER INFORMATION
This e-mail has been sent to you from Elsevier Limited, The Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford, OX5 1GB, United Kingdom. To ensure delivery to your inbox (not bulk or junk folders), please add support@elsevier.com to your address book or safe senders list.

PRIVACY POLICY
Please read our privacy policy.

http://www.elsevier.com/privacypolicy

[T-14-16111109]