Ship Strike Reduction
Right whales fall victim to ship strikes more often than any other species of marine mammal. For the same reasons they were seen as valuable to hunters, they are now in danger of injury from human activities. Right whales spend a large amount of time near the surface, feeding, mating, nursing, and resting. They also spend much of their time close to shore, which unfortunately puts them in waters used as shipping routes.
The right whale’s natural coloration contributes to the problem. The whale’s dark skin makes them difficult to see when they swim just below the surface of the water, and many mariners fail to see them in time to redirect their course.
Right Whale Ship Strike Reduction Rule (50 CFR 224.105)
NOAA Fisheries Service has issued regulations to reduce the likelihood of ship collisions with right whales. NOAA has implemented regulations to prevent or minimize the number and severity of ship collisions with Right Whale. The Ship Strike Reduction Rule (Regulation 50 CFR 224.105) requires that all vessels with a length equal to or greater than 65 ft. slow to a speed of 10 knots in seasonal management areas.
Information can be found in the Compliance Guide for Right Whale Ship Strike Reduction Rule (pdf). The regulations will be in effect until December 2013, though NOAA plans to renew the regulations unless research proves it ineffective.
Current Dynamic Management Areas Current Seasonal Management Areas
(No seasonal areas at this time)
Other efforts to reduce the threat of vessel strikes include:
Recommended Shipping Lanes
Recommended shipping lanes were established in heavily traveled shipping areas in the Southeast U.S. to minimize vessel collisions with endangered right whales during the winter calving season from November through April. These two-way routes were established based on historical patterns of right whale distribution during this time frame. The two-way routes are STRONGLY RECOMMENDED for use by all vessels when traveling into or out of the Florida ports of Jacksonville and Fernandina Beach, as well as Brunswick Harbor, Georgia, from November through April.
Mandatory Ship Reporting System
NOAA and the U.S. Coast guard have cooperated to produce the Mandatory Ship Reporting System (MSR). The MSR requires ships greater than 300 gross tons to report when they enter key right whale habitats, and the ships then receive a message about recent right whale sightings so that they may take precautionary measures. This system has been approved by the International Maritime Organization since it became operational July 1999.
Early Warning System
Multi-agency research teams also conduct Early Warning System (EWS) aerial surveys during calving season, so that they might locate the whales and provide the animal’s locations to commercial and government mariners. They also record useful information regarding the whales, so that they can be tracked for research.
A shore based right whale sighting network also helps relay right whale locations to mariners, based on information supplied by citizens on shore. In the event you or someone else sees a right whale from the beach, the animal’s location should be reported to the Marine Resources Council sighting hotline (1-888-97-WHALE) or to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission at 1-888-404-FWCC. The information that people on land provide is transmitted through the appropriate channels to alert mariners of the whale’s location; however, it is important that those reporting be able to distinguish a right whale from the other whales also known to live in Florida waters.
