Report of the Working Group on Marine Mammal Ecology (WGMME), 6–9 February 2017, St Andrews, Scotland, UK: ICES CM 2017/ACOM:27

The Working Group on Marine Mammal Ecology (WGMME), chaired by Begoña Santos (Spain) and Graham Pierce (Spain), met in St Andrews, UK 6–9 February 2017. It reported on recent information on status of, and threats to, marine mammal populations and briefly reviewed current knowledge of effects of plastics and underwater noise. Direct interactions between seals and fisheries were reviewed and the group also reported on the current status of the ICES / OSPAR seal database(s). The group provided text for five ecosystem overviews. Criteria for assessment of abundance trends in offshore cetaceans in the context of the MSFD were reviewed, modifying the proposed indicator (previously based solely on the rate of decline) to make specific reference to baseline values. Linked to this, the group reported on the outcomes of the 2016 SCANS III survey. Given that the three main large-scale surveys of cetaceans in European Atlantic waters have all arisen from individual projects and were separated by intervals of eleven years, there is concern as to the future and utility of these surveys. WGMME recommends that the surveys be co-organised and coordinated by Member States as part of their routine monitoring and that the frequency is increased to once every six years to match the MSFD reporting cycle.