Tag Archives: shipping industry
Ship Strikes: Ships must slow down more often to save whales, feds say
Vessels off the East Coast must slow down more often to help save a vanishing species of whale from extinction, the federal government said Friday. Efforts to save the whales have long focused on fishing gear, especially that used by East Coast lobster fishermen. The proposed vessel speed rules signal that the government wants the shipping industry to take more responsibility. “Changes to the existing vessel speed regulation are essential to stabilize the ongoing right whale population decline and prevent the species’ extinction,” state the proposed rules, which are slated to be published in the federal register. Fishermen are unfairly being held accountable for whale deaths that occur due to vessel strikes, said Patrice McCarron, executive director of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association, which is the largest fishing industry association on the East Coast. >click to read< 11:33
Ship strikes: Saving the Whales is Something the Shipping Industry Needs to Address Immediately
It is a little known fact that up to 20,000 whales die each year because of lethal collisions with vessels. When presented with the sight of one of the great mammals lying dead on the bows of a container ship as shown above the message comes home, but for most of the stricken animals they are fated to die unseen beneath the waves.,, Whale ship strikes have now become a significant threat to big cetaceans. Collisions kill 20 times more whales than the controversial practice of whale hunting or whaling. >click to read< 08:50
Whale Deaths and Ship Strikes: The casualty of a global problem
A humpback whale was recently spotted in the River Thames near London. This unusual sighting sparked national media interest, similar to “Benny” the beluga who also called the river home for several weeks last year. However, while Benny eventually left the Thames and headed home to the Arctic, the humpback whale was not so lucky. Ironically, despite the human-interest factor, the whale died as a result of human impact. In doing so, it had the dubious honor of being the first humpback whale known to have died in UK waters from being hit by a vessel. >click to read< 08:41
Canada: Scientist, fishermen applaud loosening of whale-protection restrictions
The federal government is easing restrictions aimed at protecting North Atlantic right whales based on data from last year, when no whales were found dead in Canadian waters. Fisheries and Oceans Minister Jonathan Wilkinson and Transport Minister Marc Garneau were in Shippagan on Thursday to announce the changes, which include reducing the area that is out of bounds to fishermen.,, Lobster and crab fishing will not be allowed in the static-closure zone, where 90 per cent of North Atlantic right whales in the Gulf of St. Lawrence were sighted last year. >click to read<21:45
