A
grant from the Alaska Sea Life Center (ASLC) in Steward, Alaska,
supported the Program of the Kamchatka
Fund of Sustainable Development and Northeastern
Board for Fish Protection of Russia (Sevvostrybvod) on the monitoring of mortality
of marine mammals in the course of herring trawling in the western Bering Sea.
Fifteen observers of the Marine Mammal Protection Service, Sevvostrybvod were
taken to the harvest region on a leased ship Taiphoon (link to photo). They recorded
marine mammals being caught in the nets and their mortality in the course of
fishing operations. From October 14 to December 31, 2002 , 20 - 50 fishing trawlers
were involved in herring harvest. The observers recorded 25 Steller sea lions
caught in the trawls (out of which number 15 animals died (photo of live and
dead animals). Northern fur seals, Dall’s porpoises, humpback whales and
killing whales were also found in the herring harvest region. However, no direct
detrimental impact of the fishery on other species of marine mammals was revealed.
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