BACKGROUND: The Maine Large Whale Take Reduction Program is responsible for developing strategies to limit whale mortality due to fishing gear entanglements in Maine's coastal waters. One way to mitigate conflicts between whales and gear is to provide fishermen with accurate, up-to-date information on whale sightings. When fishermen know where concentrations of whales are they can take steps, such as moving gear, to reduce the chances of a whale entanglement. The question is "How to cost-effectively inform fisherman about current sightings?"