Ship strikes and collisions are a major threat for marine mammals. In the Mediterranean, one of five stranded whales show markings of ship strikes. Experts agree that the known mortality rates are still largely underestimated since many strikes go unnoticed by the crew and the harmed whale might never be found. With an increase in marine traffic over the last decade, this threat becomes paramount to tackle to save vulnerable species.
Hence, the Italian NGO World Sustainability Organization launched a new “Whale Safe” label for shipping companies, including fisheries, merchants, and tourism. As a part of the program, companies are asked to report whales and take measures to avoid collisions. Therein, the ships surrounding should constantly be monitored for whales, either by a human observer or an infrared camera system. Upon observation, the ship needs to react along with a certain protocol, and report the whale to a database to warn other vessels in the area. Collisions need to be reported as well, which is not a legal requirement so far. Participants and effectiveness of measures will be published regularly by the NGO’s project ‘Friend Of The Sea’. With the label and certificate, the NGO hopes to increase awareness and decrease the mortality rate for marine mammals.
To entice companies for the label, the World Sustainability Organization hopes for public pressure as the catalyst. Paolo Bray, founder of Friends of the Sea, assumes that “once the consumers start to be aware of what is going on with whales, they will push for change.”
Though the initiative is commendable and ambitious, several whale experts have pointed out shortcomings and doubts. Even when a whale is detected, it is largely difficult to control a ship’s path in time to avoid collisions. Experience has shown that slowing down or rerouting ship lanes outside of whale habitats instead has proven benefits. In addition, public pressure would only be tangent to companies that customers directly interact with. That means cruises, merchants that regularly frequent the same harbours, and large public companies. The other half of marine traffic, however, consist of bulk carriers and tankers that hardly interact with the public. Public pressure would not drive a lot of improvement here.
Overall, the initiative hopes to bring the issue of ship collisions to the surface and make the public more knowledgeable and engaged. Reducing whale death will be a gradual process, and though the certificates might be a great start, it is likely to require a much broader approach.
For a full discussion on the topic, see New ecolabel will certify ‘Whale-Safe’ shipping companies and cruise lines (mongabay.com)
For the initiative, visit Friends of the Sea: Save the Whales Campaign | Possible Solutions to Save Whales - FOS (friendofthesea.org)