Managing the impacts of commercial fisheries on the endangered North Atlantic right whale: a social-ecological systems approach.

• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2047/D20240477

This dissertation is a social-ecological systems analysis of the federal policy framework in place in the U.S. under the Marine Mammal Protection Act to reduce human-caused mortality of the endangered North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) resulting from entanglement in commercial fishing gear. Right whales are among the rarest large whales in the world, having first been hunted to near extinction and now facing a number of human-caused threats. This research consists of three complementary parts that aim to gain a systems-oriented understanding of the past, present, and future of right whale conservation and management under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. This dissertation utilizes a social-ecological systems theoretical framework and draws conclusions on both the theory and its practical application to right whale conservation.