Dissertation Improvement Grant: Impacts of Cetacean Depredation on Longline Fishermen in Alaska

虎鲸(Orcinus Orca)和抹香鲸(Physeter Maccephalus)等顶端捕食者直接与人类争夺渔业资源等生态系统服务。这类竞争的一个例子是阿拉斯加延绳钓渔业中的鲸鱼掠夺。抹香鲸和虎鲸的掠夺发生在鲸鱼从延绳钓渔具上取下鱼，损坏鱼和/或渔具时。这种相互作用对延绳钓渔业和鲸鱼有负面影响。这个跨学科的论文项目探索了鲸鱼掠夺是如何影响阿拉斯加的延绳钓捕鱼实践和渔业资源利用的。这项研究将综合社会研究、访谈和书面问卷调查结果与NMFS渔业定量数据，以构建与掠夺相关的成本的详细经济分析。这项研究的结果将确定关于鲸目动物掠夺的社会生态和社会经济影响以及掠夺如何影响阿拉斯加延绳钓渔业的长期可持续性的基线信息。

Apex predators such as killer whales (Orcinus orca) and sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) directly compete with humans for ecosystem services such as fishery resources. One example of this type of competition is whale depredation on longline fisheries in Alaska. Sperm whale and killer whale depredation occurs when whales remove fish from longline gear, damage fish and/or fishing gear. This interaction has negative consequences for the longline fishery and for the whales. This interdisciplinary dissertation project explores how whale depredation is impacting longline fishing practices and fishery resource use in Alaska. This research will synthesize social research interview and written questionnaire results with quantitative NMFS fishery data to construct a detailed economic analysis of the costs associated with depredation. Results from this study will establish baseline information on the socio-ecological and socio-economic impacts of cetacean depredation and how depredation impacts the long-term sustainability of longline fisheries in Alaska.