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A management strategy evaluation (MSE) is used to estimate success at achieving conservation goals for marine mammals while also aiming to minimize impacts on commercial fisheries. It is intended to improve understanding of US import rules that require countries exporting fish and fish products to the USA to adhere to marine mammal bycatch standards 'comparable' to those used by the USA. The MSE framework is applied, for illustrative purposes, to export fisheries in Iceland that impact harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena), harbor seals (Phoca vitulina), and grey seals (Halichoerus grypus). Several management strategies are evaluated. The harbor porpoise population is estimated to be close to or above its maximum net productivity level (MNPL) and, according to the model, will continue to increase even if current levels of human-caused mortality are unchanged. In contrast, the grey seal and harbor seal populations are below MNPL, and bycatch mortality in the lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus) fishery will need to be reduced to allow them to recover to MNPL. Une evaluation des strategies de gestion (ESG) estutilisee pour estimer le succes vers l'atteinte d'objectifs de conservation des mammiferes marins visant aussi a minimiser les impacts sur les peches commerciales. L'objectif est d'ameliorer la comprehension des regles d'importation americaines qui exigent que les pays qui exportent des poissons et des produits du poisson vers les Etats-Unis respectent des normes concernant les prises accessoires de mammiferes marins << comparables >> aux normes utilisees par les EtatsUnis. Le cadre d'ESG est applique, a des fins d'illustration, aux peches vouees a l'exportation en Islande qui ont des impacts sur les marsouins communs (Phocoena phocoena), les phoques communs (Phoca vitulina) et les phoques gris (Halichoerus grypus). Plusieurs strategies de gestion sont evaluees. Il est estime que la population de marsouins communs se situe aux alentours ou au- dessus de son niveau de productivite nette maximum (NPNM) et, selon le modele, qu'elle continuera d'augmenter meme si les taux de mortalite causee par les humains demeurent inchanges. En revanche, les populations de phoques gris et de phoques communs sont sous leurs NPNM, et la mortalite associee aux prises accessoires dans la peche a la grosse poule de mer devra diminuer pour permettre un retour au NPNM. [Traduit par la Redaction], Introduction There is a long history of deliberate exploitation of marine mammals worldwide. Although commercial whaling and sealing have declined mainly due to a combination of regulation and resource depletion, [...]

The article presents the Report of the Working Group on DNA about its agendas and other issues discussed at the International Whaling Commission (IWC) Scientific Committee Annual Meeting held in Agadir, Morocco from May 30 to June 11, 2010. The proposed amendments to address inconsistencies in taxonomic distinctions for cetacean species made by GenBank are tackled. The recommendations of the working group on the adoption of a standard format for national DNA registers are detailed. The specifications for the development or maintenance of a diagnostic DNA register or tissue archive are also detailed which include the minimum laboratory requirements and conditions for sample collection and tissue analysis.

Background: Understanding the role of seascape in shaping genetic and demographic population structure is highly challenging for marine pelagic species such as cetaceans for which there is generally little evidence of what could effectively restrict their dispersal. In the present work, we applied a combination of recent individual-based landscape genetic approaches to investigate the population genetic structure of a highly mobile extensive range cetacean, the harbour porpoise in the eastern North Atlantic, with regards to oceanographic characteristics that could constrain its dispersal. Results: Analyses of 10 microsatellite loci for 752 individuals revealed that most of the sampled range in the eastern North Atlantic behaves as a 'continuous' population that widely extends over thousands of kilometres with significant isolation by distance (IBD). However, strong barriers to gene flow were detected in the south-eastern part of the range. These barriers coincided with profound changes in environmental characteristics and isolated, on a relatively small scale, porpoises from Iberian waters and on a larger scale porpoises from the Black Sea. Conclusion: The presence of these barriers to gene flow that coincide with profound changes in oceanographic features, together with the spatial variation in IBD strength, provide for the first time strong evidence that physical processes have a major impact on the demographic and genetic structure of a cetacean. This genetic pattern further suggests habitat-related fragmentation of the porpoise range that is likely to intensify with predicted surface ocean warming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]