The Ocean Modeling Forum’s Marine Mammal Bycatch working group is underway!
In May, we convened the first of four meetings where working group members, experts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and several observers gathered to develop scientific tools that can support nations as they work to comply with NOAA’s Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) Import Provisions Rule.
Over the course of three days, the working group deepened their understanding of management needs and the working group charge and scoped four focal projects that will be tackled over the next two years.
These projects include:
1) A synthesis of best practices for abundance estimation
2) A synthesis of best practices for marine mammal bycatch estimation
3) A user-friendly app for exploring bycatch rates
4) Extended evaluation of the PBR approach
To learn more about each project, refer to our Workshop 1 Summary
The next group meeting will take place November 19-21 in Seattle, WA.
The OMF’s Marine Mammal Bycatch Working Group is a collaboration with Oceans Initiative and funded by the Lenfest Ocean Program.