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Probability and mitigation of vessel encounters with North Atlantic right whales

dc.contributor.authorVanderlaan, Angelia SMen_US
dc.contributor.authorCorbett, James J.en_US
dc.contributor.authorGreen, Shannon L.en_US
dc.contributor.authorCallahan, John A.en_US
dc.contributor.authorWang, Chengfengen_US
dc.contributor.authorKenney, Robert D.en_US
dc.contributor.authorTaggart, Christopher T.en_US
dc.contributor.authorFirestone, Jeremyen_US
dc.date.accessioned2013-06-19T18:05:03Z
dc.date.available2013-06-19T18:05:03Z
dc.date.issued2009-03en_US
dc.description.abstractSuccessful mitigation of vessel-whale encounters requires quantitative estimates of vessel strikes, how strike rates change over time, where strikes are most likely to occur, and options for minimizing strikes. In addressing these issues, we first demonstrate a 3- to 4-fold increase in the number of reported large whale-vessel strikes worldwide from the early 1970s to the early 2000s, corresponding to a 3-fold increase in the number of vessels in the world fleet that is paralleled by an increase in vessel tonnage and speed. Second, we estimate a 50% chance of 14 or more annual vessel-strike reports worldwide between 1999 and 2002. For North Atlantic right whales Eubalaena glacialis, we estimate a 60% chance of observing at least 1 right whale death from vessel strike. Adjusting for undetermined causes of death and unobserved deaths, we estimate a 10-fold increase (from 1 to 10) in the expected annual number of fatal ship strikes. Third, we evaluate the eastern United States geographic distribution of right whales and vessels to calculate relative probabilities of vessel-whale encounters among 3 major right whale habitats. We determine that the Southern Calving Ground poses the greatest threat of a vessel strike: 1.6- and 7-fold greater than in Cape Cod Bay and the Great South Channel, respectively. Finally, for the Great South Channel region we present a quantitatively determined vessel-traffic routing option that would achieve a 39% reduction in vessel-whale encounter probabilities. The methods employed in assessing encounter probabilities and vessel-routing options can be applied elsewhere to enhance the conservation of endangered and threatened species that suffer vessel-strike mortality.en_US
dc.identifier.citationVanderlaan, Angelia SM, James J. Corbett, Shannon L. Green, John A. Callahan, et al. 2009. "Probability and mitigation of vessel encounters with North Atlantic right whales." Endangered Species Research 6(3): 273-285.en_US
dc.identifier.issn1863-5407en_US
dc.identifier.issue3en_US
dc.identifier.startpage273en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://dx.doi.org/10.3354/esr00176en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10222/27412
dc.identifier.volume6en_US
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherInter-Research, Nordbuente 23 Oldendorf/Luhe 21385 Germanyen_US
dc.relation.ispartofEndangered Species Researchen_US
dc.subjectShipsen_US
dc.subjectGeographical distributionen_US
dc.subjectCalvingen_US
dc.subjectWhalesen_US
dc.subjectCape Cod Bayen_US
dc.subjectMarine fishen_US
dc.subjectMitigationen_US
dc.subjectGreat South Channelen_US
dc.subjectEubalaena glacialisen_US
dc.subjectMortalityen_US
dc.subjectGadus morhuaen_US
dc.subjectChemical oxygen demanden_US
dc.subjectRare speciesen_US
dc.subjectNorth Atlanticen_US
dc.subjectHabitaten_US
dc.subjectBehavioral Ecologyen_US
dc.subjectChannelsen_US
dc.subjectThreatened speciesen_US
dc.subjectMarine mammalsen_US
dc.subjectNature conservationen_US
dc.subjectConservationen_US
dc.subjectEndangered speciesen_US
dc.subjectCetaceaen_US
dc.subjectMortality causesen_US
dc.titleProbability and mitigation of vessel encounters with North Atlantic right whalesen_US
dc.typearticleen_US

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