Cates, K.,DeMaster, D.P.,Brownell Jr, R.L.,Silber, G. K.,Gende, S.,Leaper, R.,Ritter, F.,Panigada, S.
Strategic Plan to Mitigate the Impacts of Ship Strikes on Cetacean Populations: 2017-2020 Technical Report
no. 64, 2017.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: IWC, mitigation, risk assessment, ship strike, Threats, vessel traffic
@techreport{,
title = {Strategic Plan to Mitigate the Impacts of Ship Strikes on Cetacean Populations: 2017-2020},
author = {Cates, K.,DeMaster, D.P.,Brownell Jr, R.L.,Silber, G. K.,Gende, S.,Leaper, R.,Ritter, F.,Panigada, S.},
url = {https://iwc.int/private/downloads/dr1UJzeCuNpAWs9Xf9caBw/IWC_Strategic_Plan_on_Ship_Strikes_Working_Group_FINAL.pdf},
year = {2017},
date = {2017-01-01},
journal = {Document presented and endorsed by the meeting of the Conservation Committee of the International Whaling Commission},
volume = {IWC/66/CC20 - updated },
number = {64},
pages = {17},
publisher = {International Whaling Commission},
abstract = {The International Whaling Commission (IWC) has identified the need to produce a Strategic Plan describing its activities intended to reduce the threat of ship strikes with cetaceans in the near and distant future. This document provides the necessary background, information and recommendations to help the IWC develop approaches and solutions by 2020 to achieve a permanent reduction in ship strikes of cetaceans.
A number of recommendations were accepted by the IWC at its October 2016 meeting (IWC-66), including: (1) Initiate efforts to get a more comprehensive and more accurate reporting of ship strike incidents into the Ship Strike Database, (2) Review records of ship strikes and add new records to the database in a reasonable time frame, (3) Improve on the reliability of species identification of ship struck whales, (4) Maintain an easily assessable compendium of relevant papers and reports of ship strike issues; produce an updated bibliography related to ship strike issues on a two year schedule, (5) Implement use of a standard protocol for reviewing and recording data into the Ship Strike database, and (6) Publish summary statistics from the Ship Strike database on a routine basis, and couple this effort with outreach efforts.
The IWC has recognized that reducing the spatial overlap of both high numbers of cetaceans and high numbers of vessels is likely to remain the best means of reducing ship strikes. Reducing vessel speeds in areas of high interactions is also a key element in mitigating adverse impacts on cetacean populations.
Finally, it was noted that human-induced mortality caused by ship strikes can be an impediment to cetacean population growth. Populations of whales in the low hundreds of individuals are at risk of continuing declines even if only a small number of ship strikes occur per year. Therefore, it is important to identify populations that are small, are in decline, or for which human activities result in whale deaths or injuries and to monitor these populations to evaluate the extent to which ship strikes are a threat:
a. Western North Atlantic right whale
b. Eastern North Pacific right whale
c. Chile-Peru right whale
d. Arabian Sea humpback whale
e. Western gray whale
f. Blue whale-Sri Lanka and Arabian Sea
g. Blue whale-Chile
h. Sperm whale-Mediterranean Sea
i. Fin whale-Mediterranean Sea
j. Bryde’s whale-Gulf of Mexico
k. Omura’s whale-Northwestern Madagascar
l. Sperm whale-Canary Islands region},
keywords = {IWC, mitigation, risk assessment, ship strike, Threats, vessel traffic},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {techreport}
}
The International Whaling Commission (IWC) has identified the need to produce a Strategic Plan describing its activities intended to reduce the threat of ship strikes with cetaceans in the near and distant future. This document provides the necessary background, information and recommendations to help the IWC develop approaches and solutions by 2020 to achieve a permanent reduction in ship strikes of cetaceans.
A number of recommendations were accepted by the IWC at its October 2016 meeting (IWC-66), including: (1) Initiate efforts to get a more comprehensive and more accurate reporting of ship strike incidents into the Ship Strike Database, (2) Review records of ship strikes and add new records to the database in a reasonable time frame, (3) Improve on the reliability of species identification of ship struck whales, (4) Maintain an easily assessable compendium of relevant papers and reports of ship strike issues; produce an updated bibliography related to ship strike issues on a two year schedule, (5) Implement use of a standard protocol for reviewing and recording data into the Ship Strike database, and (6) Publish summary statistics from the Ship Strike database on a routine basis, and couple this effort with outreach efforts.
The IWC has recognized that reducing the spatial overlap of both high numbers of cetaceans and high numbers of vessels is likely to remain the best means of reducing ship strikes. Reducing vessel speeds in areas of high interactions is also a key element in mitigating adverse impacts on cetacean populations.
Finally, it was noted that human-induced mortality caused by ship strikes can be an impediment to cetacean population growth. Populations of whales in the low hundreds of individuals are at risk of continuing declines even if only a small number of ship strikes occur per year. Therefore, it is important to identify populations that are small, are in decline, or for which human activities result in whale deaths or injuries and to monitor these populations to evaluate the extent to which ship strikes are a threat:
a. Western North Atlantic right whale
b. Eastern North Pacific right whale
c. Chile-Peru right whale
d. Arabian Sea humpback whale
e. Western gray whale
f. Blue whale-Sri Lanka and Arabian Sea
g. Blue whale-Chile
h. Sperm whale-Mediterranean Sea
i. Fin whale-Mediterranean Sea
j. Bryde’s whale-Gulf of Mexico
k. Omura’s whale-Northwestern Madagascar
l. Sperm whale-Canary Islands region
A number of recommendations were accepted by the IWC at its October 2016 meeting (IWC-66), including: (1) Initiate efforts to get a more comprehensive and more accurate reporting of ship strike incidents into the Ship Strike Database, (2) Review records of ship strikes and add new records to the database in a reasonable time frame, (3) Improve on the reliability of species identification of ship struck whales, (4) Maintain an easily assessable compendium of relevant papers and reports of ship strike issues; produce an updated bibliography related to ship strike issues on a two year schedule, (5) Implement use of a standard protocol for reviewing and recording data into the Ship Strike database, and (6) Publish summary statistics from the Ship Strike database on a routine basis, and couple this effort with outreach efforts.
The IWC has recognized that reducing the spatial overlap of both high numbers of cetaceans and high numbers of vessels is likely to remain the best means of reducing ship strikes. Reducing vessel speeds in areas of high interactions is also a key element in mitigating adverse impacts on cetacean populations.
Finally, it was noted that human-induced mortality caused by ship strikes can be an impediment to cetacean population growth. Populations of whales in the low hundreds of individuals are at risk of continuing declines even if only a small number of ship strikes occur per year. Therefore, it is important to identify populations that are small, are in decline, or for which human activities result in whale deaths or injuries and to monitor these populations to evaluate the extent to which ship strikes are a threat:
a. Western North Atlantic right whale
b. Eastern North Pacific right whale
c. Chile-Peru right whale
d. Arabian Sea humpback whale
e. Western gray whale
f. Blue whale-Sri Lanka and Arabian Sea
g. Blue whale-Chile
h. Sperm whale-Mediterranean Sea
i. Fin whale-Mediterranean Sea
j. Bryde’s whale-Gulf of Mexico
k. Omura’s whale-Northwestern Madagascar
l. Sperm whale-Canary Islands region
Ilangakoon, A. D.
Impacts of Whale-Watching on Blue Whales (Balaenoptera musculus) off Southern Sri Lanka Conference
no. 115, 2013.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Arabian Sea, balaenoptera musculus, Blue whale, impact, management, Northern Indian Ocean, risk assessment, ship strike, shipping, Sri Lanka, tourism, Whale watching
@conference{,
title = {Impacts of Whale-Watching on Blue Whales (Balaenoptera musculus) off Southern Sri Lanka},
author = {Ilangakoon, A. D. },
url = {https://repository.kulib.kyoto-u.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/2433/176191/1/12thseastar_045.pdf},
year = {2013},
date = {2013-01-01},
journal = {PROCEEDINGS of the Design Symposium on Conservation of Ecosystem (2013) (The 12th SEASTAR2000 workshop)},
number = {115},
pages = {45-50},
abstract = {Blue whales inhabit the coastal waters off southern Sri Lanka throughout the year, due to a narrow
continental shelf and upwelling, related feeding opportunities. A busy, international shipping lane also
lies off the south coast. While blue whales are listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the
subspecies status and genetic affinities of this northern Indian Ocean population is not well
understood. Since 2009 a rapidly expanding, boat-based, commercial whale-watching industry has
developed off the south coast, but remains unregulated due to the non-existence of national
regulations or codes of conduct. As a result, unethical practices are leading to harassment of the
targeted whales. Comparison of sightings data from before and after whale-watching began, shows a
shift in the area of occurrence and concentration of whales. Simultaneously there is an increase in the
number of stranding and vessel collision related mortality. These factors indicate that current whalewatching
practices are displacing whales from their preferred feeding areas and inadvertently pushing
them offshore into the shipping lane, causing an increase in fatal vessel collisions. It is recommended
that a precautionary principal is followed and whale-watching activities are regulated as a priority, in
order to mitigate any adverse impacts. },
keywords = {Arabian Sea, balaenoptera musculus, Blue whale, impact, management, Northern Indian Ocean, risk assessment, ship strike, shipping, Sri Lanka, tourism, Whale watching},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {conference}
}
Blue whales inhabit the coastal waters off southern Sri Lanka throughout the year, due to a narrow
continental shelf and upwelling, related feeding opportunities. A busy, international shipping lane also
lies off the south coast. While blue whales are listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the
subspecies status and genetic affinities of this northern Indian Ocean population is not well
understood. Since 2009 a rapidly expanding, boat-based, commercial whale-watching industry has
developed off the south coast, but remains unregulated due to the non-existence of national
regulations or codes of conduct. As a result, unethical practices are leading to harassment of the
targeted whales. Comparison of sightings data from before and after whale-watching began, shows a
shift in the area of occurrence and concentration of whales. Simultaneously there is an increase in the
number of stranding and vessel collision related mortality. These factors indicate that current whalewatching
practices are displacing whales from their preferred feeding areas and inadvertently pushing
them offshore into the shipping lane, causing an increase in fatal vessel collisions. It is recommended
that a precautionary principal is followed and whale-watching activities are regulated as a priority, in
order to mitigate any adverse impacts.
continental shelf and upwelling, related feeding opportunities. A busy, international shipping lane also
lies off the south coast. While blue whales are listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the
subspecies status and genetic affinities of this northern Indian Ocean population is not well
understood. Since 2009 a rapidly expanding, boat-based, commercial whale-watching industry has
developed off the south coast, but remains unregulated due to the non-existence of national
regulations or codes of conduct. As a result, unethical practices are leading to harassment of the
targeted whales. Comparison of sightings data from before and after whale-watching began, shows a
shift in the area of occurrence and concentration of whales. Simultaneously there is an increase in the
number of stranding and vessel collision related mortality. These factors indicate that current whalewatching
practices are displacing whales from their preferred feeding areas and inadvertently pushing
them offshore into the shipping lane, causing an increase in fatal vessel collisions. It is recommended
that a precautionary principal is followed and whale-watching activities are regulated as a priority, in
order to mitigate any adverse impacts.