Assessing a Long-Standing Conservation Program: Mariner’s Perspectives on the North Atlantic Right Whale, Eubalaena glacialis, Mandatory Ship Reporting System

Measures established to protect living marine resources, including those for endangered marine species, are only infrequently evaluated.In this paper we report fi ndings of an online survey designed to solicit the views of maritime industries about a long-standing endangered large whale conservation program: the Mandatory Ship Reporting (MSR) system.The MSR was established in 1999 to aid in reducing the threat of vessel collisions with the highly depleted North Atlantic right whale, Eubalaena glacialis.Under MSR provisions, vessels >300 gross tons are required to report their location, speed, and destination when entering two key right whale aggregation areas.In return, reporting ships are sent an automated message about right whale vulnerability to ship collisions.The survey was intended to obtain views about the extent to which vessel operations were interrupted by