North Atlantic Right Whale Recovery Plan Southeast U.S. Implementation Team Key Outcomes Memorandum.pdf

I. Overview
The North Atlantic Right Whale Recovery Plan Southeast U.S. Implementation Team (SEIT) conducted a two-day meeting on May 10 and 11, 2023, at the Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve in Ponte Vedra, Florida. The SEIT's Forum was conducted from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm on May 10 and was open to the public. The SEIT deliberated from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm on May 11, 2023, and focused on the following primary objectives: SEIT Business, Forum Review, Review previous SEIT priorities/5-year plan and discuss vision, and Outreach updates and next steps.

II. Participants
The SEIT meeting was attended by Team members: Lance Garrison, Mike Getchell, James Johnson, Hardee Kavanaugh, Amy Knowlton, William McLellan, Leslie Ward-Geiger (Team Lead), and Katie Moore (attended via teleconference). John Baxter was unable to attend. Laura Engleby, Clay George, and Kara Shervanick represented NOAA Fisheries (NMFS) Southeast Regional Office (SERO), Protected Resources Division. Diane Borggaard represented the Greater Atlantic Region Fisheries Science Office, Protected Resources Division.

III. Meeting Materials
The following materials were provided to SEIT members via email prior to the meeting: The 2-day meeting agenda.

IV. Key Outcomes
A. Welcome and Meeting Kick Off
This was the SEIT's first in-person 2-day meeting since the pandemic; Team welcomed. Virtual meetings were held since May 2020 (over 90 participants attended the May 2022 virtual meeting including several NEIT members to help facilitate IT coordination). The meeting kicked off with a brief review of the meeting purpose and agenda.

B. SEIT Business
The SEIT discussed possible dates and format (in-person vs. teleconference) for the fall SEIT meeting and in light of scheduled meetings including the Consortium and the 2023 North Atlantic Right Whale Festival. SEIT summer check-in call was scheduled for July 18 9:00 – 10:30; fall meeting format will be decided at that time.

C. Focused Discussions
i. Forum Review
L. Ward-Geiger reviewed day 1 presentations to facilitate Team deliberations. Deliberations included the following key points related to forum presentations:
• Disentanglement efforts: C. George presented on disentanglement efforts during the 2022-2023 season which included open-water response-related videos and gear details from the cases of right whales #3812 'Nimbus' and #1218 'Argo'. The Team recognized that these disentanglement responses rely on SE efforts that involve human risk, time, and resources, and that outcomes are difficult to predict.
• Monitoring efforts: Various presentations during the forum sparked discussion of aerial survey and passive acoustics monitoring efforts and the SEIT's interest in the status of the NMFS right whale monitoring plan. Key discussion points are as follows:
o NMFS to discuss plan, when available, with SEIT and other partners.
o Timely information on NARW distribution shifts is one objective per L. Garrison.
o This past season underscores the importance of aerial detection of entanglements and M/SI.
o SEIT previously conducted a prioritization process regarding aerial surveys- this could be updated if SERO requested.
o A team member suggested monitoring daily ship traffic arrival/departure schedules which are variable and could help focus mitigation/surveillance efforts.
o Team discussion on Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute's (FWRI) projection models to help refine surveys, outreach and messages.
o Team interested in updates from acoustics research– how persistent are acoustic patterns/diurnal vocalizations?
o Health assessment discussion (photogrammetry, biopsy sampling, etc)

D. Consensus Actions
This section summarizes consensus recommendations of the SEIT:
• Encourage the use of sinking groundlines and "weak rope" in the Canadian trap/pot fisheries as soon as practicable.
• NMFS to discuss plan, when available, with SEIT and other partners.
• Timely information on NARW distribution shifts is one objective per L. Garrison.
• This past season underscores the importance of aerial detection of entanglements and M/SI.
• SEIT previously conducted a prioritization process regarding aerial surveys- this could be updated if SERO requested.
• A team member suggested monitoring daily ship traffic arrival/departure schedules which are variable and could help focus mitigation/surveillance efforts.
• Team discussion on Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute's (FWRI) projection models to help refine surveys, outreach and messages.
• Team interested in updates from acoustics research– how persistent are acoustic patterns/diurnal vocalizations?
• Health assessment discussion (photogrammetry, biopsy sampling, etc)

E. Other
This section summarizes other topics discussed during the meeting:
• The SEIT discussed possible dates and format (in-person vs. teleconference) for the fall SEIT meeting and in light of scheduled meetings including the Consortium and the 2023 North Atlantic Right Whale Festival.
• SEIT summer check-in call was scheduled for July 18 9:00 – 10:30; fall meeting format will be decided at that time.
• There was general discussion on topics for joint NEIT/SEIT webinars in between meetings, particularly on topics that span full Team focus such as PET (population evaluation tool team) updates and products and a potential DFO webinar.