Increase in Arctic Shipping Is Risk to Marine Mammals

ScienceDaily (Mar. 16, 2012) — As Arctic sea ice melts, Alaska's whales, walruses, and polar bears may face a new obstacle as they navigate local waters: traffic. According to an assemblage of Alaska Native groups and WCS, the rapid increase in shipping in these formerly frozen waterways poses a heightened risk to the region's marine mammals and the local communities that rely on them for food security and cultural identity. 


The groups recently convened at a workshop in Anchorage, Alaska to examine these potential impacts. At issue is the effect of climate change on Arctic waters, which over the last few decades have become increasingly ice-free during summer and fall. The lengthening of the open-water season has led to new industrial developments, including oil and gas activities and a rising number of large maritime vessels. The ships transit either the Northern Sea Route over the Russian Arctic from Europe, or the Northwest Passage through the Canadian Arctic from the Atlantic. Both routes require passage through the Bering Strait, the only gateway to the Pacific and a key migratory pathway for marine mammals heading to and from the Arctic Ocean. 


Read on:  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120316112549.htm

Blue whales off California. Why aren't they recovering?

Research shows Blue whales endangered by shipping
October 2011. Scientists in California have been puzzling as to why, when most large whale species have recovered well in the last 20 years, Blue whales have not.

Blue whales migrate past the Post of Los Angeles, one of the busiest in the world, between May and December. There are regular reports of ships striking the Blue whales, and at least 4 were killed in 2007. The true number may be much higher because most blue whale deaths go undocumented with the carcass sinking or the blue whale floating offshore undiscovered. Blue whales face serious risks from ship strikes especially when they use areas like LA/Long Beach on the route of the high level of shipping traffic serving these ports.

Blue whale research on occurrence off S California, abundance, and presence near shipping lanes has benefited by the recent collaborative effort between Cascadia Research and the Aquarium of the Pacific with the help of Harbor Breeze Cruises. This work has revealed a higher level of recent use of the waters off LA by Blue whales than had been known previously.

The lack of increase in blue whale populations is in contrast to many other large whale species that occur off California like Humpback, Fin, and Gray whales which have shown strong recoveries from whaling over the last 20 years.

Read on ...