Dear colleagues,

 

My co-authors and I are pleased to announce the publication of our article:

Rayner, J., Embling, C.B., Ryan, C., and Hartny-Mills, L. (2024) ‘Minke whale entanglement in static fishing gear: identifying consistent areas of high risk in Western Scotland”, J. Mar. Biol. Ass. UK., 104, e15.

 

Abstract:

Entanglement in static fishing gear is the largest cause of non-natural mortality for minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) in Scottish waters. To mitigate whale entanglement, one priority is to identify areas where the risk of entanglement is consistently high. Sightings data for minke whales and creel fleets were collected by the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust, during vessel line transect surveys conducted between 2008 and 2014. Habitat modelling was used to relate survey, environmental, and temporal variables to the co-occurrence of minke whales and creels in coastal waters of western Scotland. This revealed that minke whale occurrence was related to depth, peaking around 70 m. Using predictive habitat modelling, the overlap between minke whale habitat and the creel fishery was measured as risk of entanglement. A method was developed to quantify the consistency of risk over the seven-year time period. This allowed for the identification of areas where there had been a consistently low, medium, or high risk of entanglement from 2008 to 2014. The three areas with a consistent high risk of entanglement were identified: Inner Sound and Sound of Raasay, east of North and South Uist, and north of The Small Isles. The method presented here could be used to guide management to areas where mitigation efforts will be the most consistently effective over time.

 

You can download this Open Access paper here:

https://doi.org/10.1017/S0025315423000930

 

Many thanks, Clare & team

 

Dr Clare B Embling

Associate Professor in Marine Ecology

School of Biological and Marine Sciences, University of Plymouth, B425 Portland Square, Drake Circus, Plymouth, PL4 8AA

 

Email: clare.embling@plymouth.ac.uk

 

Website: https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/staff/clare-embling

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Gcin3_gAAAAJ

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clare-embling-90793b2/

Marine Vertebrate Conservation Research Unit

https://www.instagram.com/marinevertscru/

 

I sometimes send emails at odd times but I do not expect them to be read, or to receive a response, outwith your normal working hours.

 



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