MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION — Annual Report for 1991 



areas. The purpose of these workshops is to estimate 

 calf and juvenile mortality by comparing photographs 

 of mother-calf pairs taken in the Hawaiian Islands 

 breeding area with same-season photographs taken of 

 whales on the Alaska feeding grounds. The first 

 workshop, held 20-23 November 1991, focused on 

 cataloguing photographs taken by researchers in 

 Mexico, California, Canada, Alaska, Hawaii, and 

 Japan, and identifying possible data biases (e.g., 

 calves missed on the Hawaiian breeding grounds, and 

 post-sighting calf mortality on the Alaska feeding 

 grounds). It was supported in part by funding from 

 the Marine Mammal Commission. A second work- 

 shop, planned for April 1992, will compile lists of 

 female humpback whales that were "matched" within 

 a season in both Hawaii and Alaska, and estimate 

 calf/juvenile mortality rates from these resighting 

 records. The results of the workshops will be pub- 

 lished by the International Whaling Commission. 



Airship Surveys of Right Whale Mother-Calf Pairs 

 (James H. W. Hain, Ph.D., Associated Scientists at 

 Woods Hole, Woods Hole, Massachusetts) 



In 1989, the Marine Mammal Commission con- 

 tracted for a pilot investigation of how existing and 

 next-generation airships might be used in marine 

 mammal research (see 1989 Annual Report). The 

 results of that investigation indicated, among other 

 things, that airships have great potential for studies of 

 the effects of human activities on marine mammals, 

 particularly cetaceans. In 1991, the Marine Mammal 

 Commission provided partial support for airship 

 surveys to observe and evaluate interactions between 

 mother-calf right whales and ship traffic and other 

 variables along the coast of Georgia and northern 

 Florida. Additional support was provided by the 

 Navy and the Minerals Management Service. The 

 surveys are to be done in January 1992. The survey 

 results are expected to further demonstrate the value 

 of airships for doing cetacean studies and to indicate 

 where and to what extent commercial shipping and 

 other human activities may be affecting the distribu- 

 tion and behavior of endangered right whales on their 

 presumed winter calving grounds. 



Project YONAH (Years of the North Atlantic 

 Humpback Whale) 



(Phillip J. Clapham, Center for Coastal Studies, 

 Provincetown, Massachusetts) 



Project YONAH, or "Years of the North Atlantic 

 Humpback Whale," is a three-year international 

 collaborative research project to estimate the abun- 

 dance and stock structure of North Atlantic humpback 

 whale populations. Participants in the project will 

 obtain and utilize photographs and biopsy samples to 

 assess seasonal movements and stock identity of 

 humpback whales that occur in summer in the Gulf of 

 Maine, the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Newfoundland, 

 Labrador, West Greenland, Iceland, and western 

 Norway and in winter on the breeding grounds in the 

 West Indies (e.g.. Silver Bank, Navidad Bank, Sa- 

 mana Bay, and Mona Passage). The Marine Mammal 

 Commission provided funds to help administer and 

 coordinate implementation of the project, scheduled to 

 begin in 1992. 



Workshop on the Rescue, Rehabilitation, and 

 Release of Sick and Injured Marine Mammals 

 (David J. St. Aubin, Ph.D., and Joseph R. Geraci, 

 V.M.D., Ph.D., Department of Pathology, University 

 ofGuelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada) 



Every year, regional stranding networks, which 

 involve personnel from specialized facilities, local 

 zoos, oceanaria, aquaria, and universities, recover and 

 take into captivity live stranded marine mammals for 

 rehabilitation. The number of such animals is increas- 

 ing and may pose a risk to both captive and wild 

 populations as well as to the people involved in these 

 programs. It is possible, for example, that animals 

 may be exposed to exotic diseases while being treated 

 in captivity and may infect wild populations if they 

 are returned to the wild. The purpose of this work- 

 shop, held in Chicago on 3-5 December 1991, was to 

 review the available information and to recommend 

 actions that should be taken to stop potentially danger- 

 ous and inhumane practices and to resolve uncertain- 

 ties concerning the rescue, rehabilitation, and release 

 of stranded marine mammals. Workshop participants 

 included experts in the relevant scientific disciplines 

 and representatives of the groups involved in rescue 

 and rehabilitation programs. Funding for the work- 



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