A New Tool To Safeguard North Atlantic Right Whales

A recent news published in Safety4Sea highlights the report released by Oceana about the voluntary slowdown measure put in place by Transport Canada this year.  The main purpose of slowing down measure is to protect the critically endangered North Atlantic right whales from deadly ship strikes in the Cabot Strait is being largely ignored.

High speed vessels a threat

Accordingly, vessels with high speed endanger North Atlantic right whales which are being killed by ship strikes – one of their leading causes of death.

In June, a right whale calf was found dead off the coast of New Jersey, likely due to fatal ship strikes.

In January, a calf was found injured off the coast of Georgia and is presumed to be dead due to severe ship strike wounds.

Also, the report highlights the urgent need for a  mandatory slowdown.

Some vessels travel 20 knots 

Exceptionally few complied, with 67% of the ships (464 out of 697) travelling faster than the 10-knot limit, and some vessels even travelling 20 knots or faster.

Studies have found that slowing ship speeds to less than 10 knots in areas where these whales may be encountered can reduce the lethality of collisions by 86%.

Upgradation of slowdown zone

Consequently, Oceana Canada calls Transport Canada to upgrade the slowdown zone in the Cabot Strait from voluntary to mandatory.

It comes with enhanced monitoring and surveillance of the area to better understand when and where whales are present.

For more information click here