Pelagic Longline Take Reduction Team (PLTRT)
Overview
NMFS established a take reduction team (TRT) to address the incidental mortality and serious injury of long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala melas) and short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) in the mid-Atlantic region of the Atlantic pelagic longline fishery.
Under section 118 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), the PLTRT is charged with developing a take reduction plan (TRP) to reduce bycatch of pilot whales in the Atlantic pelagic longline fishery to a level approaching a zero mortality and serious injury rate within 5 years of implementation of the plan. (For more information, please see the Federal Register notice announcing the PLTRT [pdf]).
The Plan
The PLTRT reached consensus on a plan to reduce serious injuries and mortalities of short-finned pilot whales, long-finned pilot whales, and Risso's dolphins in the Mid-Atlantic portion of the Atlantic pelagic longline fishery to insignificant levels approaching a zero mortality and serious injury rate. The Team submitted the draft Pelagic Longline Take Reduction Plan [pdf] [2.5 MB] to NMFS on June 8, 2006.
A proposed rule to implement the Pelagic Longline Take Reduction Plan was published on June 24, 2008:
- Proposed Rule [pdf] (73 FR 35623)
- Proposed Rule References [pdf]
- DRAFT Environmental Assessment, Regulatory Impact Review, and Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis [pdf]
PLTRT Meetings
- April 2006 - St. Petersburg, FL
- Key Outcomes Memorandum [pdf]
- January 2006 - Miami, FL
- September 2005 - Falls Church, VA
- Key Outcomes Memorandum [pdf]
- June 2005 - Bethesda, MD
- Key Outcomes Memorandum [pdf]
Background
NMFS settled a lawsuit with several environmental organizations in 2003, which resulted in an agreement to convene the PLTRT [pdf] in June 2005.
In 1996, NMFS convened the Atlantic Offshore Cetacean Take Reduction Team (AOCTRT) to address bycatch of several marine mammal stocks, including pilot whales, in the Atlantic pelagic longline, pelagic drifnet, and pair trawl fisheries. The AOCTRT submitted a final draft AOCTRP [pdf] [6.5 MB] to NMFS in November 1996. However, the fisheries included in that draft plan changed dramatically soon after and NMFS disbanded the AOCTRT before taking final action.
- Draft Atlantic Pelagic Longline Take Reduction Plan [pdf] [2.5 MB]
- Marine Mammal Handling/Release Guidelines - A Quick Reference for Atlantic Pelagic Longline Gear [pdf]
- Members of the PLTRT [pdf]
- Report to Congress: Review of Commercial Fisheries' Progress Toward Reducing Mortality and Serious Injury of Marine Mammals Incidental to Commercial Fishing Operations [pdf]
- Stock Assessment Reports
- Long-finned Pilot Whale Species Information
- Risso's Dolphin Species Information
- Short-finned Pilot Whale Species Information
- Report of the Workshop on Interactions between Cetaceans and Longline Fisheries [pdf]. Apia, Samoa. November 2002. New England Aquarium Forum Series Report 03-1.
- Take Reduction Planning