Geospatial analysis of management areas implemented for protection of the North Atlantic right whale along the northern Atlantic coast of the United States

The North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) is a critically endangered large whale species found in waters off the U.S. and Canadian Atlantic coasts. The primary human-caused threats are entanglement in fishing gear and collisions with vessels. Since 2002, NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service has implemented both seasonally and dynamically managed protective zones where right whales occur to reduce these threats; Seasonal Area Management (SAM) and Dynamic Area Management (DAM) for the reduction of right whale entanglements with fishing gear, and Seasonal Management Areas (SMA) and Dynamic Management Areas (DMA) for reduction of vessel collisions. This paper analyzes the presence of frequent concentrations of right whales outside of SAM and SMA zones, represented by the spatial and temporal occurrence of DAMs and DMAs. A grid of 1min×1min squares was geospatially applied to locations of DAMs and DMAs from April 2002 through June 2011 and the number of management areas that intersected each 1min square was populated. DAMs and DMAs were most highly concentrated along the central Gulf of Maine. Of the 131 DAMs and DMAs implemented, 97 (74.0%) intersected this area, and were primarily implemented from October through February. The results of this analysis will aid in consideration of possible modifications to the size and location of SMAs along the northern Atlantic coast of the U.S. and other management actions for the reduction of vessel collisions with right whales.