Estimating Bycatch Mortality for Marine Mammal Stock Assessment
Concepts and best practices
A new paper in Frontiers in Marine Science describes best practices for observer programs and data collection techniques that can be used to assess marine mammal bycatch mortality. Authors from the MMPA Bycatch Working Group outline central concepts such as the bycatch mortality estimator, bycatch-per-unit-of-effort (BPUE), and biases in bycatch estimation. They also detail typical impediments to obtaining good estimates and solutions for situations where resources such as funding, monitoring capacity, and data are limited. The guide is intended to be useful for managers and scientists in countries working to establish or enhance their own marine mammal bycatch assessment programs, especially for those conducting assessments for the first time.
Read the full paper here.
Reference
Moore, J.E., Heinemann, D., Francis, T.B., Hammond, P.S., Long, K.J., Punt, A.E., Reeves, R.R., Sepúlveda, M., Már Sigurðsson, G., Siple, M.C., Víkingsson, G., Wade, P.R., Williams, R., Zerbini, A.N. (2021). Estimating bycatch mortality for marine mammal stock assessment: concepts and best practices. Frontiers in Marine Science. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.752356
