The
following article on ship strikes of large whales in Washington State based on
stranding data has recently been published:
Douglas,
A.B., J. Calambokidis, S. Raverty, S.J. Jeffries, D.M. Lambourn and S.A.
Norman. 2008. Incidence of ship strikes of large whales in Washington State. Journal
of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom.
doi:10.1017/S0025315408000295, Published online by Cambridge University Press
17 March 2008
ABSTRACT: Ship strikes of large whales cause mortalities
worldwide, but there is uncertainty regarding the frequency and species
involved. We examined 130 records (from 1980–2006) of large whale strandings in
Washington State. Nineteen strandings (seven species) had evidence of
ship-strikes. Fin whales Balaenoptera physalus had the highest incidence
of ante-mortem ship strike (five of seven, with the remaining two possibly
post-mortem) and all but one occurring since 2002. Six grey whales Eschrichtius
robustus suffered ‘possible ship strike’ injuries, likely the result of
their large numbers in the area, rather than high levels of ship strikes. Only
one possible ship-struck humpback whale was recorded, despite concentrations of
humpbacks feeding within shipping lanes in this region. This study shows
dramatic differences in occurrences of ship-struck large whales by species,
which we believe results from a combination of species’ vulnerability to ship
strikes, and how likely a struck whale is to be caught up on the bow of a ship
and brought to waters where it can be examined.
Please
contact the authors for a PDF of the article,
or it can be downloaded directly from the journals website:
Annie
Douglas
abdouglas@cascadiaresearch.org
Annie
Douglas
Cascadia
Research
218
1/2 W. 4th Ave.
Olympia,
WA 98501
wk.
(360)943-7325
www.cascadiaresearch.org