A workshop on the effects of tagging on North Atlantic right whales

Abstract

Enclosed is a report on a workshop held at the New England Aquarium on October 23rd, 1999, to review the effects of implantable satellite and radio tags on right whales in the North Atlantic. Transcripts from the meeting served as the basis for a draft of this report, which was circulated on April 12th . Comments were received from several participants and have been incorporated. Although no consensus was reached on the workshop topic, most participants agreeing on the need for better follow-up of animals subject to tagging activities. Additional recommendations were made by participants, but they are not consensus statements. The results of the workshop do not provide support for a moratorium on tagging, but they also do not suggest that researchers can be complacent about the potential effects on animals. The need to identify missing right whale habitats means that tagging will continue to be an essential part of the biologist's toolkit. This report indicates that while tag technology is rapidly improving, a commensurate improvement in monitoring effects is needed. It seems likely that both will lead to better tagging efforts in the future.