Speed Limits for Ships to Protect Blue Whales

Speed Limits for Ships to Protect Blue Whales



2007 September -   The Center for 
Biological Diversity today formally petitioned the federal government to 
set speed limits for ships in the Santa Barbara Channel off southern 
California to protect endangered blue whales. 
At least three dead blue whales have been documented in southern 
California over the past two weeks. The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural 
History, which conducted analyses of the dead whales, determined that ship 
strikes caused all three of the deaths. 
It was reported the week of September 9 that there were about 100 blue 
whales in the Santa Barbara Channel and that their primary food source, 
tiny crustaceans called krill, was prevalent in the shipping lanes. 
Most large vessels plying the Santa Barbara Channel are heading to or from 
the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Several thousand container ships 
transit the channel each year. 
The whales were found dead September 8, September 14, and September 21. 
Preliminary results of the necropsy on the third whale indicated that the 
whale died of a ship strike, the museum scientists said. "The cranium was 
essentially smashed and there was extensive damage to the skeleton, such 
that during the excavation process broken ribs were falling out. The bones 
showed discoloration and uneven breaks indicating that the whale was alive 
at the point of impact with a large ship. Also, there were large dark 
stains in the muscle and tissue indicating that the whale bled internally 
and death was instant. There was no evidence of sonar damage found." 
While blue whales are regularly seen in the Santa Barbara Channel, the 
whales generally leave the channel by the end of August. But this year, 
about 100 of the whales stayed to feed in the channel, which puts them in 
the path of vessels using some of the busiest shipping lanes in the world. 

Museum scientists have a "working theory" that domoic acid, a toxin 
associated with certain algal blooms, may be a contributing factor to the 
whales' deaths. 
"Whether the blue whales are being disoriented by military sonar, toxic 
algae or something else entirely, what is actually killing them is 
speeding ships," said Brendan Cummings, oceans program director for the 
Center for Biological Diversity. "The single most effective thing we can 
do to protect blue whales is to slow down large ships." 
The Center's petition asks the National Marine Fisheries Service, the U.S. 
agency in charge of enforcing the Endangered Species Act and the Marine 
Mammal Protection Act, to set a speed limit of 10 nautical miles per hour 
in the Santa Barbara Channel for all vessels 65 feet or larger until the 
whales have left the channel. 
The National Marine Fisheries Service has proposed similar speed limits on 
the east coast to protect the critically endangered North Atlantic right 
whale. 
"We are incredibly lucky to have one of the most incredible animals that 
has ever existed right off our coast," said Cummings. "But we also have 
the responsibility to manage our oceans to ensure that our rich waters are 
not a death trap for endangered species." 
The blue whale is the largest animal that ever lived on Earth. Once 
numbering over 300,000, the global blue whale population was reduced by 
commercial whaling to an estimated 10,000 individuals. 
Blue whales off California are part of a population of about 1,200 
animals. Scientists estimate that more than one human-caused death each 
year will impede the recovery of the California population.
 
The public is asked to notify the Marine Mammal Stranding Network of any 
floating whales seen in Southern California waters. Please contact the 
Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History at 805-682-4711 ext. 157. 

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