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Published: 2008

Total Pages: 94

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"To promote national consistency for interpreting the regulatory definition of serious injury, NMFS convened a workshop in April 1997 to discuss available information related to the impact of injuries to marine mammals incidental to commercial fishing operations (Angliss and DeMaster, 1998). Since 1997, additional information has been collected on human-caused injuries to marine mammals and survival rates of certain individual and/or species of marine mammals. For this reason, NMFS convened the Serious Injury Technical Workshop on September 10-13, 2007, with the primary objectives to: 1) review the recommendations and guidance from the 1997 workshop; 2) review new information obtained since the first workshop; and 3) discuss the use of, and necessary changes to, existing guidance for distinguishing serious from non-serious injuries. The 2007 workshop extended beyond discussions related only to marine mammal-commercial fishery interactions. Although other sources of human-caused injuries were mentioned during the workshop, much of the 2007 workshop discussions focused on types of injuries commonly observed from encounters with vessels and fisheries (e.g., blunt force trauma, penetrating, hidden, and gear and hooking injuries) because these interactions have been examined to the greatest extent. The 2007 workshop consisted of two sessions: an open session (Days 1-3) attended by over 65 federal and non-federal participants, and a closed session (Day 4) attended by 36 federal participants. NMFS invited workshop participants based on their expertise in marine mammal serious injury issues, including marine mammal management, policy, marine mammal biology, pathobiology, and veterinary medicine. The primary purposes of Days 1-3 were to present a synthesis of new science and to gather new information on injured marine mammals. The information from Days 1-3 was also used to provide a scientific basis for recommendations by government officials in the closed session on Day 4. The primary purpose of the closed session (Day 4) was to draw on Days 1-3 presentations and discussions to consider potential changes to the existing serious injury guidance and associated administrative approaches. The topics addressed during Days 1-3 included: 1) Evaluation of current data and determination systems (in plenary and breakout sessions); 2) Overview of new information on survival of injured marine mammals (large cetaceans, small cetaceans, pinnipeds, and manatees); 3) Pathobiology of injuries; and 4) Breakout activities to address key questions on the topic of determining severity of injuries to marine mammals."--Executive summary.