With more boats and more whales, it only stands to reason that there will be more collisions between them. And a study prepared last year for the Hawaiian Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary bears out that suspicion.
The study, by the Oceanwide Science Institute, noted that 22 whale-vessel collisions had been reported to occur in Hawai’i waters between 1975 and 2003. Whale-vessel collisions in Hawai’i “are occurring with increased frequency and will likely continue to increase unless steps are taken to actively mitigate the problem.”
Study authors Marc Lammers, Adam Pack, and Lisa Davis wrote, “Only two incidents were reported between 1975 and 1984, six between 1985 and 1994, and 13 between 1995 and 2003.”
Nor is Hawai’i the only place where whale collisions are increasing.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has proposed speed limits, no-shipping areas, and designated shipping lanes to protect endangered right whales in the Atlantic.
A July 13 2004 a press release by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility stated that NOAA was proposing these rules and others to “protect whales from the growing threat of death and harassment from whale watching expeditions… Fatal collisions with ships have become a leading threat to whale survival. According to NOAA figures, whale watch boats are the second known leading cause of ship strikes of whales, second only to ship strikes by the U.S. Navy.”
— Teresa Dawson
Volume 15, Number 4 October 2004
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