A global analysis has found whales remain highly susceptible to collisions with ship hulls or propellers despite government and industry efforts to protect the marine mammals.
Fewer than 7 percent of “global hot spots” for whale-vessel strikes are in areas that have adopted measures to protect the vulnerable animals, according to the analysis published in the journal Science.
And as shipping lanes become more congested in coming decades, collisions between ships and whales are likely to rise, driving mortality rates higher and reversing what has been a gradual recovery trend among some whale species.
“Ship strikes are now a serious threat to whales, causing higher rates of mortality than are legally permissible from anthropogenic sources for some populations, contributing to the decline of critically endangered species, and occurring in all oceans,” the paper states.
