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Fatal entanglements in fishing gear threaten marine mammal populations worldwide. The management of entanglements of large whales, such as the North Atlantic right whale ( Eubalaena glacialis ), with commercial fisheries, is a challenge given the species’ small population size, economic consequences of regulations, and the general lack of data on entanglements. The U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) requires development of programs to limit marine mammal entanglement in commercial fishing gear. Following a retrospective look at implementing aspects of the MMPA, a set of guiding principles were developed with associated best practices useful in reducing fatal large whale entanglement in fishing gear. Among these are: 1) involve stakeholders early in the decision making process; 2) establish a transparent management strategy that includes critical needs to guide research; 3) use a variety of tools such as an established process for receiving new information and ideas; and 4) incorporate adaptive management which considers the constraints of dynamic (rapid) changes to some fixed fishing gear. Efforts to reduce worldwide marine mammal bycatch will typically occur in a data-limited environment as experienced with U.S. Atlantic large whale entanglements. The guiding principles will remain as key tools for reducing large whale bycatch in fisheries as they build upon common practices. These insights developed over two decades of management can potentially help others to address similar bycatch problems.

Interactions between marine mammals and fishing gear are an issue of global concern. Entanglements in the western North Atlantic are a major source of injury and mortality for endangered large whales. In this study, entanglements of 31 right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) and 30 humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) were analyzed to determine the types and parts of gear involved. When gear was identified, 89% (n= 32) of the entanglements were attributed to pot and gill net gear; however, a wide range of specific gear types were implicated. Despite gear recovery, gear type was not identified in 20% (n= 9) of the cases. Although pot gear was recovered from both species equally, gill net gear was less frequently retrieved from right whales (n= 2) than humpback whales (n= 11). When gear part was identified, 81% (n= 21) involved entanglements in buoy line and/or groundline. For right whales, the most common point of gear attachment was the mouth (77.4%); for humpback whales, the tail (53%) and the mouth (43%) were common attachment sites. Four right and three humpback whales in this sample were known to have died subsequent to entanglement. However, when identified, the gear types and parts involved in lethal cases were not substantially different from entanglements with non-lethal outcomes. Large whales can become entangled in a wide variety of fishing gear types and parts, and additional insight will depend on continued efforts to document entanglements and recover associated gear.