Hello people of MARMAM,
As part of my PhD I am compiling reports of historic and recent vessel collisions with large whales (mysticetes and sperm whales) in the Eastern Tropical Pacific
(from Baja California (Mex.) to Northern Peru). This area has a real absence of known published/recorded events when compared with Southern California, and indeed the whole west coast of the US and Canada. We know that ship strikes are occurring in
parts of this range and we hope to increase the number of properly documented ship strikes events, to better understand the extent of the problem in this region.
If there is anyone on this mailing list who would be willing to share information on known whale vessel collisions that have occurred in this area, it would be greatly appreciated. Any
information, from stranding records, officially documented reported events to eye-witness anecdotal accounts, in either English or Spanish will be valued immensely. All information shared will be properly accredited. This is a data gathering exercise that
will ultimately be compiled and provided to the IWC to coordinate with their ‘Strategic Plan to Mitigate the Impacts of Ship Strikes on Cetacean Populations’ and feed into their ship strike database.
I thank you in advance for any help,
Kind Regards,
PhD Candidate
Cetacean Research Unit, Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia