Journal article
Response of Commercial Ships to a Voluntary Speed Reduction Measure: Are Voluntary Strategies Adequate for Mitigating Ship-Strike Risk?
Coastal management, Vol.40(6), pp.634-650
11/01/2012
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/115510
Abstract
Collisions between ships and whales are an increasing concern for endangered large whale species. After an unusually high number of blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus) were fatally struck in 2007 off the coast of southern California, federal agencies implemented a voluntary conservation program to reduce the likelihood of ship-strikes in the region. This initiative involved seasonal advisory broadcasts requesting vessel operators to voluntarily slow to 10 knots or less when transiting a 75 nm stretch of designated shipping lanes. We monitored ship adherence with those speed advisories using Automatic Identification System data. Daily average speed of cargo and tanker ships and the average speed of individual ship transits before, during, and after the notices were statistically analyzed for changes related to the notices. Whereas a small number of individual ships (1%) traveled significantly slower during the requested periods, speeds were not at or below the recommended 10 knots, nor were daily average speeds reduced during the notices. Voluntary conservation measures are established in a variety of contexts, and may be preferable to regulatory action; in this case, a request to make voluntary changes appeared largely ineffective. Reducing collision risks for whales in this area will require consideration of the various factors that likely explain the lack of adherence when developing an alternative strategy.
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Details
- Title
- Response of Commercial Ships to a Voluntary Speed Reduction Measure: Are Voluntary Strategies Adequate for Mitigating Ship-Strike Risk?
- Creators
- Megan F McKenna - Scripps Institution of Oceanography , University of California San DiegoStephen L Katz - Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary , National Oceanographic and Atmospheric AdministrationChristopher Condit - San Diego Supercomputer Center , University of California, San DiegoShaun Walbridge - National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis , University of California, Santa Barbara
- Publication Details
- Coastal management, Vol.40(6), pp.634-650
- Academic Unit
- Environment, School of the (CAS)
- Publisher
- Taylor & Francis Group
- Identifiers
- 99900547744501842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article