Who we are....

In 1990 the Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) created a new five-member research group, the Marine Mammal Investigation (MMI), to study the ecology of marine mammals. Creating the MMI consolidated and expanded marine mammal research within the NEFSC that had been conducted since 1980. By 1995 the group had expanded to a staff of ten and was renamed the Protected Species Branch (PSB). Studies are conducted both internally by PSB staff and in cooperation with other researchers in the region under various cooperative agreements and contracts.

Where we came from....

In 1979 the U.S. Marine Mammal Commission sponsored a workshop to help define marine mammal scientific research needs of the East and Gulf Coasts of the United States. Shortly after the workshop, a decade-long program of contract studies was sponsored by the NEFSC which documented aspects of the distribution, ecological relationships and human interactions of marine mammals principally of the northeast U.S. Coast. The program was greatly expanded in response to information needs mandated by the 1988 amendments to the MMPA which focused mainly on fishery bycatch issues.  As additional funding became available, NEFSC staff became increasingly involved in the development of stock assessments and a marine mammal observer program.   Studies were organized into four broad research areas; Human Interactions, Optimum Sustainable Population Size, Ecological Roles and Habitat and Research Planning and Archiving.  The PSB offices are located at the NEFSC on Water Street in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. Research work conducted by the PSB is principally concerned with cetacean, pinniped, sea bird and marine turtle species that live or migrate off the coast of the northeastern United States.

What we do and why.....

Following the 1994 re-authorization of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), emphasis began to be placed more on the information needs for specific management approaches defined there. The 1994 amendments required that NMFS and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), in consultation with regional Scientific Review Groups (SRG) prepare draft assessment reports for each stock of marine mammal that occurs in the waters under U.S. jurisdiction. These reports are then made available for public review and comment and final marine mammal stock assessment reports are prepared based on public comments and continued consultation with the SRGs. The SRGs are a broad representation of marine mammal and fishery scientists and members of the commercial fishing industry that are mandated to review marine mammal stock assessments and provide advice to the Assistant Administrator for NMFS.

The 1994 amendments also mandate preparation and implementation of Take Reduction Plans (TRP) to assist in the recovery, or prevent the depletion, of strategic marine mammal stocks which interact with Category I or II fisheries. As a result, four Atlantic Coast Take Reduction Teams (TRT) were developed: 1) Gulf of Maine Harbor Porpoise TRT, 2) Atlantic Offshore Cetaceans TRT, 3) Large Whale TRT, and 4) Mid-Atlantic Harbor Porpoise TRT.  To date, the Gulf of Maine Harbor Porpoise and Atlantic Offshore Cetaceans teams each reached a consensus and their plans were completed and submitted to NMFS Headquarters. The Large Whale TRT failed to reach a consensus, therefore NMFS developed a Large Whale Take Reduction Plan (LWTRP) based on their recommendations. The Mid-Atlantic Harbor Porpoise TRT reached a partial consensus and submitted their plan and points of disagreement to NMFS.  NMFS, using the plans submitted by the TRTs, has designed a Final Rule (1998 U.S. Federal Register, Vol. 63, No. 231) for a Harbor Porpoise Take Reduction Plan (HPTRP) including both the Gulf of Maine and the Mid-Atlantic.

Additionally, NEFSC staff have become increasingly involved in the work of the Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), especially in areas of expertise developed for domestic studies.