Depredation of Tunas and Tuna-Like Species by Marine Mammals: Economic Impacts of a Human-Wildlife Interaction

Citation
Le Gallic B, Gourguet S, Metz S (2021) Depredation of Tunas and Tuna-Like Species by Marine Mammals: Economic Impacts of a Human-Wildlife Interaction. Collect Vol Sci Pap ICCAT 78:139–146
Abstract

Depredation, i.e. the partial or complete removal of caught fish from fishing gear by marine mammals, is attracting more and more attention from fisheries managers and society in general due to the growing concerns about the conservation of marine mammals' populations and Human-Wildlife interactions in general. This short background paper presents the key issues at stake for the Tuna fisheries and, in particular, the potential economic impacts, both for the fishing industry and for the society. While fishing vessels endure directly some costs (losses in production and gear damages), other costs can occur to implement unavoidable mitigation strategies. On the other hand, the depredation phenomenon can facilitate the feeding patterns of marine mammals and thus contribute to their well-being. As such, depredation could be seen as a phenomenon generating a positive externality, which might allow for compensation, as it is the case in several land activities. In addition to presenting the ecological and socio-economic impacts of depredation, the paper suggests that several integrated modelling approaches can be appropriately developed to capture the phenomenon.