Dear all,
we are pleased to announce the publication of our following
article :
Di-Méglio N, David L. and Monestiez P. - Sperm whale ship strikes in the Pelagos Sanctuary and adjacent waters: assessing and mapping collision risks in summer. J. CETACEAN RES. MANAGE. 18: 135–147, 2018
ABSTRACT
Collisions with large vessels potentially present a major
conservation issue for sperm whales in the Pelagos Sanctuary in
the northwestern
Mediterranean Sea. The exact numbers and locations of ship strikes
remain largely unknown at present. In this study, sightings of
sperm whales in
summer (June–September) were gathered for the period between 1998
and 2008 from nine French and Italian organisations, together
covering an
area of more than 68,000km. Working on a regular grid of 0.1° ×
0.1° latitude/longitude cells, approximate surface density of the
whales was
calculated using kriging methods. A database of shipping lanes of
ferries and merchant vessels was assembled, and traffic density
was mapped
(kilometres travelled per cell). The data was overlayed and
multiplied, using ArcGis, to create a relative density surface map
of sperm whales
correlated with the relative density of maritime traffic. Several
maps of collision risk were drawn up according to the speed class
of the vessels. Of
living animals that had been photo-identified, 9% had scars
attributed to ship strike. Results show that sperm whales are at
high risk from merchant
vessels along the French and Italian continental coasts and at
risk from conventional ferries on the east side of the islands of
Corsica and Sardinia.
It was calculated that 74 animals could be in a ship strike risk
situation during the summer period in the Pelagos Sanctuary. Based
on these results,
mitigation measures already in place were reviewed and new
measures to reduce ship strike risk are suggested.
KEYWORDS: SPERM WHALE; MEDITERRANEAN SEA; SHIP STRIKE; MODELLING; DISTRIBUTION; MARINE PROTECTED AREA
Feel free to visit the webpage https://iwc.int/jcrm to download the article, or to send a request to : ecoocean@wanadoo.fr
Léa David ; Nathalie Di-Méglio ; Pascal Monestiez
-- EcoOcéan Institut 18 rue des Hospices 34090 Montpellier FRANCE +33 (0)467842887 ecoocean@wanadoo.fr http://www.ecoocean-institut.org