NW NW CMEPS Halifax Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals Editorial By Roy Mulder Photos courtesy DNN Archives This is a report by Roy Mulder summarizing some of the highlights of the Halifax conference. It is written from the perspective of a conservationist attending a science conference. The conference was well attended by around 2,000 marine mammal scientists from around the world. This report covers some general information and is written from a Canadian interest and perspective. The large Canadian concern at the conference was the population of North Atlantic right whales in eastern Canada. As of late there have been 16 whales found dead generally in the region bounded by the Magdalen Islands, PEI and the New Brunswick coastline. One of the main concerns is that although this population numbers are around 500 animals, there are only 100 that are females of calf bearing years, and their mean longevity is only 14 years, while their potential lifespan is 60-80 years. From studies, it is clear that just about every one of them has encountered fishing tackle in their lifetimes. Although entanglement is often blamed as a key factor in their demise, necropsies of dead whales is indicating that ship strikes may well be the main contributor to these deaths, while in US waters entanglement is the primary cause. One of the organizations displaying at the conference was the Campobello Whale Rescue Team. This impressive group formed of fishermen interested in addressing entanglements lost one of their members in a rescue this year. The group documents entanglements and proactively works on releasing whales entangled by trap lines. They clearly know their risks and work hard to improve their methodology to make it safer for both the whales and the rescuers. The Sea Mammal Education Learning and Training Society was also displaying in the poster session. Their contribution to entanglements is a system that uses traps without lines and an inflatable trap return system. This system uses a GPS locator and RF transmitter to keep a record of trap locations for pick up after being laid. Hopefully the future will see some solutions to both entanglements and ship strikes. Rope-less fishing gear while in development remains a major hope for the future. It is noteworthy that at the current rate of loss N Atlantic Right whales will be extinct in 23 years. CANADA: NORTHWEST REGIONAL NEWS 32 SCUBAH2OMAG.COM