Short-Finned Pilot Whale

This species is protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 as amended.

Short-finned pilot whale. Photo: NOAA Fisheries/Paula Olson

Reducing Interactions with Fishing Gear

Bycatch in fishing gear is a leading cause of short-finned pilot whale deaths and injuries in U.S. waters.

To reduce serious injuries and deaths of several marine mammal stocks incidental to the California thresher shark/swordfish drift gillnet fishery, NOAA Fisheries implemented the Pacific Offshore Cetacean Take Reduction Plan. Representatives from NOAA, the fishing industry, regional fishery management councils, state and federal resource management agencies, the scientific community, and conservation organizations worked together to develop the plan. The plan includes gear modifications, such as net extenders and pingers, as well as skipper education workshops.

To reduce deaths and serious injuries of long-finned pilot whales from certain commercial fisheries in the western North Atlantic, NOAA Fisheries implemented the Atlantic Pelagic Longline Take Reduction Plan. Representatives from NOAA, the fishing industry, regional fishery management councils, state and federal resource management agencies, the scientific community, and conservation organizations worked together to develop the plan. The plan includes a special research area, gear modifications, outreach material, observer coverage, and captains’ communications.

Learn more about bycatch and fisheries interactions

Reducing Vessel Strikes

Collisions between whales and large vessels can injure or kill the whales and damage the vessels, but they often go unnoticed and unreported. The most effective way to reduce collision risk is to keep whales and vessels apart. If this is not possible, second best is for vessels to slow down and keep a lookout.

Learn more about reducing vessel strikes

Addressing Ocean Noise

Underwater noise threatens whale populations, interrupting their normal behavior and driving them away from areas important to their survival. Increasing evidence suggests that exposure to intense underwater sound in some settings may cause some whales to strand and ultimately die. NOAA Fisheries is investigating all aspects of acoustic communication and hearing in marine animals, as well as the effects of sound on whale behavior and hearing. In 2016, we issued technical guidance for assessing the effects of anthropogenic (human-caused) sound on marine mammal hearing.

Learn more about ocean noise

Overseeing Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response

We work with volunteer networks in all coastal states to respond to marine mammal strandings. When stranded animals are found alive, NOAA Fisheries and our partners assess the animal’s health. When stranded animals are found dead, our scientists work to understand and investigate the cause of death. Although the cause often remains unknown, scientists can sometimes identify strandings due to disease, harmful algal blooms, vessel strikes, fishing gear entanglements, pollution exposure, and underwater noise. Some strandings can serve as indicators of ocean health, giving insight into larger environmental issues that may also have implications for human health and welfare.

Learn more about the Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program

Marine Mammal Unusual Mortality Events

Under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, an unusual mortality event (UME) is defined as "a stranding that is unexpected; involves a significant die-off of any marine mammal population; and demands immediate response." To understand the health of marine mammal populations, scientists study unusual mortality events.

Get information on active and past UMEs

Get an overview of marine mammal UMEs

Educating the Public

NOAA Fisheries aims to increase public awareness and support for pilot whale conservation through education, outreach, and public participation. We regularly share information with the public about the status of pilot whales, as well as our research and efforts to promote their recovery.

Short-finned pilot whales spotted during the Hawaiian Islands Cetacean and Ecosystem Assessment Survey in 2017 from APH-22 Hexacopter. Photo: NOAA Fisheries/Kym Yano and Amanda Bradford.

In 1997, NOAA Fisheries  implemented the Pacific Offshore Cetacean Take Reduction Plan, which requires the use of pingers and 6-fathom net extenders in the California/Oregon drift gillnet fishery to reduce bycatch of cetaceans, including short-finned pilot whales.The Pacific Offshore Cetacean Take Reduction Team continues to meet and recommend measures to further reduce bycatch and achieve MMPA goals.

In 2009, NOAA Fisheries implemented the Pelagic Longline Take Reduction Plan, which includes a mainline length requirement as well as research and observer coverage recommendations.  The Atlantic Pelagic Longline Take Reduction Team continues to meet and develop recommendations for further reducing bycatch of pilot whales and achieving MMPA goals. 

NOAA Fisheries conducts various research activities on the biology, behavior, and ecology of the pilot whale. The results of this research are used to learn more about this species.

A group of short-finned pilot whales of different ages spotted during the Hawaiian Islands Cetacean and Ecosystem Assessment Survey in 2017. Photo: NOAA Fisheries/Rory Driskell and Amanda Bradford

Stock Assessments

Determining the number of pilot whales in each population—and whether a stock is increasing or decreasing over time—helps resource managers assess the success of enacted conservation measures. Our scientists collect information and present these data in annual stock assessment reports. 

Acoustic Science

Acoustic research at NOAA uses underwater microphones to record sounds made by whales and dolphins. Once the recorders are collected and brought back to the lab, those sounds are detected on the recordings, and classified to species when possible. Using this data, scientists are able to learn more about the distribution and abundance of a species than using visual observations alone. 

NOAA scientists have used recordings of short-finned pilot whales to describe their acoustic behavior and improve our descriptions of their stock structure in the Pacific Ocean. Similar experiments track the response of short-finned pilot whales to human-generated sounds by playing recordings of those sounds and observing the response of animals in the wild. 

Eventually, what we learn about the way different species vocalize can be used to detect and count cetaceans using autonomous gliders and passive acoustic arrays. 

Learn more about acoustic science

Molecular Genetic Research

Molecular genetic techniques are an invaluable tool in cetacean research. Cetaceans are elusive, spending little time at the surface, and often live in remote areas that are difficult to sample. Because of this, classifying species and population structure using traditional morphological methods often gives us an incomplete picture of cetacean diversity. Analyses of molecular genetic markers provide insight about species’ population structure and diversity, and can reveal cryptic populations or subspecies that may be separated by oceanographic features, ecological differences, or social structure.

NOAA Fisheries has been using mitochondrial DNA control region sequences to examine population structure of short-finned pilot whales in the Pacific Ocean. Using these sequences, we have described the distribution of two types of short-finned pilot whale in the Pacific Ocean – one in the eastern Pacific Ocean, and the other in Hawai‘i and the western Pacific Ocean. In Hawai‘i, we’ve identified a resident population around the Main Hawaiian Islands that is likely reproductively isolated from individuals in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and open ocean surrounding the islands.