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Severe mutilation of a baleen whale in a longline fishery off the Brazilian coast

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 August 2015

Flavia C.F. Pinheiro ,
Salvatore Siciliano ,
Jailson F. de Moura  and
Davi C. Tavares
Flavia C.F. Pinheiro*
Affiliation:
Departamento de Oceanografia e Ecologia, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, 29075-910 Vitória, ES, Brazil Associação Ambiental Voz da Natureza, 29050-780 Vitória, ES, Brazil
Salvatore Siciliano
Affiliation:
Instituto Oswaldo Cruz/FIOCRUZ, 21040-360 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil Instituto Megafauna Marinha (IMMAR)/Grupo de Estudos de Mamíferos Marinhos da Região dos Lagos (GEMM-Lagos), Cabo Frio, RJ, Brazil
Jailson F. de Moura
Affiliation:
Instituto Oswaldo Cruz/FIOCRUZ, 21040-360 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil Instituto Megafauna Marinha (IMMAR)/Grupo de Estudos de Mamíferos Marinhos da Região dos Lagos (GEMM-Lagos), Cabo Frio, RJ, Brazil
Davi C. Tavares
Affiliation:
Instituto Megafauna Marinha (IMMAR)/Grupo de Estudos de Mamíferos Marinhos da Região dos Lagos (GEMM-Lagos), Cabo Frio, RJ, Brazil Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro, 28013-602 Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ, Brazil
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: F.C.F. Pinheiro, Associação Ambiental Voz da Natureza, 29050-780 VitóriaES, Brazil email: [email protected]
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Abstract

The interaction between baleen whales and longline fisheries is poorly known worldwide and likely underestimated. This article presents one of the most severe scenarios of this interaction; an incident that resulted in the severe mutilation of the entire fluke of a whale and probably lead to its death. Considering the characteristic of the fluke, we strongly suggest that the fluke belonged to a small balaenopterid, most likely a dwarf minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata). The episode reported here seems to be the first in its nature involving a baleen whale entangled in longline fishing gear off the Brazilian coast, and so, it represents, at the very least, the need for further investigation into the magnitude of such interactions in the south-west Atlantic Ocean.

Keywords

cetaceanentanglementfishing gearsouth-west Atlantic
Type
Research Article
Information
Marine Biodiversity Records , Volume 8 , 2015 , e129
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2015 

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