The Center for Coastal Studies (CCS), under contract and authorization from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), manages a network of marine professionals trained and equipped to rescue large whales from entanglement in fishing gear along the Atlantic coast of the United States.

These entanglements are a significant human cause of death in populations of great whales, second only to ship collision.  In the case of northern right whales, mortality and serious injury from entanglement may exceed the Potential Biological Removal rate (PBR) of the Marine Mammal Protection Act and is a contributing threat to the recovery of this species.

Until such time as reliable and affordable whale-safe fishing methods are developed and implemented in the fixed-gear fishery, the professional disentanglement of whales is an effective means to reduce the incidence of mortality.

In this paper we present a description of the current program in the context of a chronology of its development and evolution.

Prior to the mid-1980's, there was no official effort dedicated to the rescue of entangled whales off the U.S. East Coast.  For decades, fishermen themselves, with little fanfare and no documentation of success or failure, attempted to rescue most entangled whales they encountered.  If entanglements were reported to authorities they were typically handled by local volunteer stranding organizations that were ill equipped to handle the rescues effectively and safely, especially those involving free-swimming large whales.  Rescues often ended with a whale either not being disentangled at all, or only partially freed — the most lethal part of the entanglement still remaining on the whale.

In an effort to improve the success rate of disentanglements, in 1984, researchers at the Center for Coastal Studies began a long-term program specifically focused on the rescue of large whales from fishing gear off New England.  NMFS ultimately issued CCS a Letter of Authorization (LOA) distinguishing the qualifications required for the successful rescue of large whales at sea from those necessary for most stranding operations.

The initial scope of the program was the Cape Cod Bay/Stellwagen Bank area, generally within 50 miles of the CCS base in Provincetown, Massachusetts.  The project's first decade saw the development and evolution of a variety of custom tools and techniques.  Some of these are modifications on ancient whaling methods, some adaptations of techniques developed by Jon Lien of Memorial University, and some are completely unique.

In 1994, NMFS officials, acknowledging the success of the CCS program and recognizing the need for entanglement response on the coast of Maine, authorized a Maine Disentanglement Protocol.  A full-time volunteer responder was based on Mount Desert Island and the New England Aquarium provided seasonal response capability in Bay of Fundy.  Vessels reporting entangled whales were requested to provide information and stand by, keeping the whale in sight, until a qualified First Responder arrived.

In the Maine Protocol, a First Responder's role is to quickly get to the location of a report, verify, assess and document the entanglement and then to recommend further action to the CCS Disentanglement Team.  The painstaking process of accurately verifying and assessing the entanglement of a whale is one of the most critically important and difficult tasks in whale rescue.  It becomes the basis for the actions and decisions of dozens of people in numerous private, federal, state and international agencies who might become involved with the event.

Following the initial assessment the First Responder has three general options for action at the scene of an entanglement.  All courses of action taken by First Responders are done in consultation with disentanglement personnel at CCS and, when possible, NMFS.

The first option is to attempt to free the whale immediately.  This decision is only made in the very rarely seen situation of a whale whose death is imminent without immediate intervention and the risk to the rescuer is low.  In most cases First Response teams are made up of only one or two people, perhaps with Coast Guard or fisherman support.  They generally bring a minimum of easily carried equipment to the scene, primarily for documentation, communication, safety and telemetry attachment and are not prepared to conduct difficult disentanglements.

The second option for a First Responder is to tether a telemetry buoy to the entangling gear on a whale.  This might be done if the whale's long-term survival without intervention is in question, but it is not in immediate danger of dying from the entanglement.  Telemetry equipment, custom made for this purpose, has proven very effective to monitor entangled whales in remote locations in any weather and to relocate them days or even weeks later when the conditions are favorable for a rescue attempt.

The third option is to simply stand down and monitor the whale if it is determined that its survival is likely in the long-term without any intervention.  The high entanglement survival rate of both humpback whales and right whales, evidenced by the photographic record, indicates that most whale entanglements do not end in the death of the whale — even without intervention.  The actions required to restrain a whale during disentanglement procedures are potentially dangerous to both the whale and to the rescuers.  Therefore, rescues are only attempted as a last resort to save the whale's life.  Nonetheless, the decision to stand down is never taken lightly nor made quickly.  It is often the most agonizing option for the First Responder, who may also be contending with pressure to act from bystanders.

Building on the increased capability in Maine, in 1996, CCS was contracted by NMFS to develop a region-wide network of qualified responders.  The range of disentanglement coverage was expanded to include coastal waters from Rhode Island to the Canadian border by establishing a network of First Responders at strategic sites. This system provides coverage at events until the primary Disentanglement Team can be mobilized from Cape Cod and allows for further expanding geographic range as new First Response units are established.

On April 30, 1996 a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the U.S. Coast Guard First District and the National Marine Fisheries Service Northeast Region made the resources of the Coast Guard available to rescuers.  This most significant step made possible the rapid deployment of rescue teams throughout the range of the First District and the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans' Scotia-Fundy Region, including previously unreachable offshore waters.

As it relates to disentanglement, the First District's responsibilities include but are not limited to:

1. "Transfer of equipment and personnel by helicopter or cutter to and from offshore or remotes sites where the disentanglement efforts will be attempted.
2. Providing appropriate afloat units…from which extended disentanglement operations can be conducted.
3. Providing appropriate air units to search for entangled whales which have had VHF radio direction finding tags attached.
4. Coordinate with DFO to transport…personnel and equipment to disentanglement sites in Canada's Scotia-Fundy Maritime Region when entangled whales migrate across the United States and Canadian maritime boundary."

Similar agreements are now being finalized with all Atlantic Coast Guard districts.  In recent years the U.S. Coast Guard has provided important logistical, communication and safety components to virtually every disentanglement event on the Atlantic Coast.

The Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan - Interim rule, published on July 22, 1997, and the Final Plan, published on February 16, 1999, provide authorization and funds for further expansion of the Whale Disentanglement Network.

An important component of these plans is an outreach and training program for commercial fishermen.  In 1997, NMFS hired Glenn Salvador, a former fisherman, to serve as the Large Whale Take Reduction Plan Coordinator in Maine.  Glenn serves as a liaison to fishermen in Maine and New Hampshire and is a member of NMFS' Gear Advisory Group and Gear Research Teams.  Speaking regularly at commercial fisheries association and council meetings, he has been very successful in engaging fishermen in field research and testing programs on prototype fishing technology intended to reduce the incidence of entanglement.

In 1998, NMFS and CCS jointly conducted a series of 21 Level One voluntary training programs for commercial fishermen in coastal communities throughout Maine.  In 1999, 14 additional seminars were held at each Coast Guard station in Maine and New Hampshire for the cooperative training of commercial fishermen and Coast Guard personnel.  Training was also provided to all Maine Marine Patrol officers.  In addition, CCS personnel conducted training at most Massachusetts and Rhode Island Coast Guard Stations.  Some training drills involved the use of multiple Coast Guard vessels and aircraft in real-time rapid response exercises.

A waterproof information sheet, distributed by mail to all licensed commercial fishermen, supplements the training.  Also, since many reports of entanglements come from commercial whale watching vessels and professional aerial fish spotters, these groups, as well as the press, receive regular updates of information and protocols.

CCS and NMFS staff developed four levels of training and certification for commercial fishermen in New England.  Fishermen are often the first to hear of an entanglement in their area and typically will stand by entangled whales and provide reliable reports to Network personnel.

The primary objectives of the Level One training program are to:
1. Provide the fishing industry with a sound scientific and conservation understanding of the entanglement issue.
2. Review the gear requirements of the ALWTRP.
3. Provide basic instruction on the identification and natural history of the four whales in The Plan.
4. Describe the disentanglement procedure using slides and video of actual events.
5. Give specific instruction on what to do in case of finding an entangled whale.  This includes descriptions of who to call, how and why to stand by, and what to expect when help arrives.
6. Solicit feedback on both the disentanglement program and gear research efforts.

In all, 324 licensed commercial fishermen in Maine and New Hampshire, representing 80 homeports and 296 vessels, were certified as Level One responders during the pilot program.  Two hundred and twenty-five of these fishermen signed up for additional, Level Two, training.

Level Two provides an opportunity to gain experience with whales at sea.  Small groups of fishermen spend a day on the water with a member of the CCS Disentanglement Team.  Training cruises are often conducted jointly with the Coast Guard aboard their vessels.  Participants gain experience spotting whales, identifying the species, describing a whale's individual characteristics and behavior, and standing by — visually tracking an individual whale for a period of time.  They also receive hands-on training in the use of VHF telemetry equipment.

Progression to Level Three or Four requires a demonstrated combination of skills, training, experience, and commitment.  Level Three is essentially a full-time First Responder, qualified, equipped and available to conduct a rapid response to any entanglement, make a competent assessment, attach a telemetry buoy and conduct simple disentanglements.  At Level Four, one is qualified and authorized to lead a full-scale disentanglement attempt on any whale.

Geographic expansion of the Network has followed quickly on the pilot work in New England.

A trailer-load of rescue equipment now travels with the New England Aquarium Right Whale Research Team year round as they migrate - along with the right whales - from the Bay of Fundy to Florida.  The IFAW research vessel, Song of the Whale, is also now equipped with Network First Response gear while studying right whales.

In late 1998, CCS staff conducted two days of training on the mid-Atlantic coast for responders from Florida to Virginia.  Thanks to the initiative and work of Bill Foster, a Hatteras, North Carolina fisherman, Sea Grant provided funds for the training and for the purchase of a full disentanglement equipment cache, two telemetry buoy systems and a First Response Kit.  First Responders are now based on Cape Hatteras, the University of North Carolina in Wilmington, Duke University Marine Lab in Beaufort, and the Virginia Marine Science Museum in Virginia Beach.

During the winter of 2000, CCS will conduct additional training for entanglement responders from North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.

These teams operate under the direction of CCS with similar protocols to those in Maine.  That is, First Response is conducted locally, under the supervision of CCS and the authority of NMFS.  If a mid-Atlantic First Responder tags an entangled whale, under most circumstances the CCS Disentanglement Team in Provincetown will be transported to the scene for the rescue attempt.

The most recent installment of this expanding network is an international collaboration.  East Coast Ecosystems, an organization based in Nova Scotia, Canada has created a Scotia-Fundy regional disentanglement network under contract and authorization from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.  The Canadian network has conducted training for fishermen in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick communities; purchased a full equipment cache; and, this past summer, participated in a multi-agency, international effort to simultaneously rescue three entangled right whales in the Bay of Fundy.

Whale rescue is complex, unforgiving work that is dependent on the commitment of trained, well-informed, highly skilled people.  Tools and techniques change rapidly as each entanglement provides new challenges.  A website now provides the hundreds of members of the network with up-to-date information on the latest entanglements, rescues, and technical reports.

The Large Whale Disentanglement Network is committed to its important role in research leading to whale-safe fishing gear.  As we continue to work on improvements in rescue technology, education, and communication, we do so with a strong commitment to hastening the day when entanglement prevention becomes a reality and whale rescue becomes an obsolete pursuit.

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