Volume 77
Interactions between commercial fishing and cetaceans in the French West Indies
Authors
Maite Ottmann, Johanna Herfaut, Gaelle Hebert, Rachel Lecomte, and Jerome Couvat Download PDF Open PDF in BrowserOther Information
Date: November, 2024
Event: Proceedings of the Seventy-Seventh Annual Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute
City: Gosier
Country: Guadeloupe, French West Indies
Abstract
The waters of the French West Indies are home to a third of all known cetacean species and form the Agoa Sanctuary, a marine protected area dedicated to the protection of marine mammals. As part of a study commissioned by Agoa, the interactions between fishing and marine mammals were recently characterised. The main objectives were to take an overview of fishing practices in the French West Indies, identify fishing techniques likely to generate negative interactions with marine mammals, find out how fishermen perceive marine mammals and identify the necessary management measures. Based on literature and interviews with technical and scientific experts and members of fishing industry, the study was supplemented by surveys of 70 fishermen, representing 6.5% of the French West Indies fleet (J. Herfaut, et al, unpublished data).