Boat Collisions with Whales and Dolphins; A Nautical Dilemma
Today, with increasing boat technology allowing faster boats we are "running into" a major dilemma... Literally! Marine organisms are extremely susceptible to being hit by boats that are moving far too fast. This is becoming a major conservation issue and has not been on the forefront of people’s minds as being a serious problem (U.S. Whales). However, researchers are now noting boat strikes with marine organisms as being an overwhelmingly negative conservation issue. It has not been as commonly discussed because people were unaware that they were fatally injuring marine animals. But when a dolphin or whale is hit by a boat they? IT can die from the impact, or the injury can make them the animal more susceptible to attack by predators. Their injury could also affect their foraging and migration abilities, which can also lead to death. Dolphins and whales are not the only marine animals greatly impacted by boat strikes ; manatees, sea turtles and sharks can also be injured (Marine Mammal Science).
Injured Killer whale, most likely wounded by the propeller of a boat.
Researchers have been faced with a big challenge trying to quantify and analyze this topic. Many of the animals that have been hit by boats die and therefore go unnoticed. Studies that have been done on boat collisions have only been able to study the animals that have survived. All studies found that slower boat speeds in commonly populated areas would significantly help this problem . When boats moved slower the animals were able to recognize the danger and get out of the way and far enough away from the boat in enough time. When boats move too quickly the animal may attempt to flee but it may be too late because they could not get out of the way of the boat fast enough (Laist, 2001 ). Humans are unable to notice these? animals because they can be right under the surface, or they notice too late and are unable to avoid them. This can be particularly problematic with dolphins, which are playful creatures and sometimes do not realize the danger that boats pose to them. Dolphins are known for being very friendly and find the boat to be a toy to them that they can chase and jump in the wakes. This can be extremely dangerous to them because the boats could actually hurt them. Whales, although not as playful as dolphins, also may not recognize the boat or ship as being threatening to them.
A severely injured dolphin in Florida became a big star in the news in July of 2015.
As for a potential solution to this problem? Raising awareness about the dangers of hitting marine animals, and decreasing boat speeds in areas that are known to contain high amounts of dolphins, whales, sea turtles, sharks and manatees. Being aware of foraging areas and migration routes is also a beneficial tool to preventing these collisions. Boat strikes with marine animals are extremely common in our area. Florida is a hotspot for marine biodiversity and we have had problems with manatees being struck by boats. These boat strikes have killed and injured so many manatees that it almost completely collapsed their population in Florida. Many organizations have been working on captive breeding programs to try to help the manatee population bounce back. But in order for this to be truly successful we also need to work on correcting human behavior, raise awareness for the issue and reduce boating speeds. Moving forward if we do not actively work on trying to assuage this problem we could accelerate the extinction of these species. Therefore this is a major conservation issue and needs to be addressed in future environmental policy decisions.
A baby Hectors Dolphin killed by a boat propeller.
A dead female humpback whale pinned to the front of a large Cruise ship in Alaska.
References
http://us.whales.org/issues/boat-traffic
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/boat_strikes/
https://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/pages/87ef6ac7-da62-4a45-90ec-0d473863f3e6/files/nomination-boat-strike-2007.pdf
http://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-animals/marine-mammals/dolphins/hectors-dolphin/
http://wfla.com/2015/07/22/severely-injured-dolphin-seen-in-pinellas-county-off-of-johns-pass/
http://www.groundreport.com/shipstrikes-the-irony-of-the-southern-right-whales-name/
Laist, D. W., Knowlton, A. R., Mead, J. G., Collet, A. S., & Podesta, M. (2001). Collisions between ships and whales. Marine Mammal Science, 17, 33-75.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-1298928/Dead-whale-pinned-Princess-cruise-ship-iin-Alaska.html
