Pacific Spirit Marine Institute

Road Kill at Sea

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Nearly 35% of all whales found dead show signs of being hit by ships. These injuries include huge, horrible, deep gashes and blunt force trauma.

At greatest risk for injuries from ocean going vessels are the calves. Underdeveloped diving skills cause them to be more vulnerable. In some species ship strikes are the largest known cause of death.

Shockingly hundreds of these strikes go unreported. The small amounts that are reported are generally exposed when ships coming into ports are pushing a whale carcass pinned to their prows.

There are a variety of reasons whales are suffering from these hit and run accidents. Underwater noise levels have reached deafening levels making it nearly impossible for whales to hear approaching ships.

Meanwhile two dead whales, a young grey and an orca, have washed ashore in the space of a week at Nootka Sound and Boundary Bay only last week. Are they just the latest victims of hit and run?

Marty Haulena of the Vancouver Aquarium says most of the last five orcas to die in B.C. waters were the victims of some sort of ship strike.Necropsy reports provided little in the stranding of a mind boggling 33 pilot whales and 1 minke on a single day, January 14, 2005 near Oregon Inlet North Carolina USA. The following day 2 dwarf sperm whales stranded north of Cape Hatteras, N.C.

Over the past decade NOAA Fisheries Services scientists have concluded parasites, viral infections, biotoxins, acute noise in the oceans and traumatic injuries due to ship strikes are being counted among the reasons for sea mammal stranding.

What is the reason these hits are not being reported?Forcing ships to cut engine props while traveling across known migration routes would cut into industry’s bottom line. These engines cut deeply into marine mammals killing and wounding untold numbers daily.

For business the bottom line is a living.For whales the bottom line is living.

Labels: Ocean, Ocean Habitat, Sea Mammals, Whales