Right whale, wrong move

US gov't siding with foreign shipping companies on protections

Posted by Erik Hoffner (Guest Contributor) at 3:16 PM on 20 Jul 2007

Read more about: oceans | wildlife | endangered species

The Bush administration is holding up new regs approved a year ago that'd make ships go more slowly in order to protect North Atlantic right whales. (The White House Council of Economic Advisors is now reviewing causes of right whale deaths, a task already done by marine experts.)

Not a big surprise. Saddest part is that it's doing so, it seems, at the request of foreign shipping companies, who don't care about the U.S.' endangered species or laws regarding them. And why should they? There's only 300 of these creatures left, hardly enough to quibble about ...

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This is a Right whale after it was hit by a boat

From the UN Atlas of oceans.

The sooner we can get that idiot out of office, the better.

In the end, it all comes down to biodiversity. Poison Darts--Protecting the biodiversity of our world

by biodiversivist at 5:33 PM on 20 Jul 2007

Boston harbor

That is a powerful image, BioD.

The Studds-Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary includes pretty much all the water between Cape Ann and Cape Cod, which means all shipping into and out of Boston harbor must cross through it. Regulations on the speed of vessels moving in the vicinity of whales have been in place for some time, but apparently these are not at all easy to enforce:

http://stellwagen.noaa.gov/protect/welcome.html

I would imagine that that is the place where the Northern Right Whale (Eubalaena glacialis; the closely related Southern Right Whale, E. australis, seems to be in somewhat better condition) tends most to come into contact with ships. But "pockets" are found off Nova Scotia and in the lower Bay of Fundy, which means ships to and from Saint John, NB, and Yarmouth and Halifax, NS (outside US control anyway), might increase the incidence of strikes. And the breeding grounds are off Florida and Georgia, so same thing for pretty much every eastern US port.

As we consider this country's pattern of hesitating to enforce existing laws and regulations for the sake of business interests, it seems to be the Republicans in general, and not just the people in the White House, who are guilty of that. They only start talking tough about enforcement when it comes to immigration law.

Chickens deserve our true friendship! So do fish! So do other sentient beings! Let us learn to be kind.

by caniscandida at 8:41 AM on 21 Jul 2007

Well, you do come through

Hey, all:

The sooner we can get that idiot out of office, the better.

Gee, BioD, congratulations. And I certainly won't say 'chill'--much too trite.

We need to 'person up' (the gender-neutral thing sucks sometimes) and speak truth to power and criticize ignorance, negative action, inaction, and mediocrity. I have said repeatedly that we should be better organized and find alternative candidates to the "tired old men" who nevertheless have the collective energy to keep screwing us over generation after generation.

Although Constitutional scholars and lawyers of many persuasions have said very strongly there is abundant cause to impeach, there won't be an impeachment. The invertebrate Congress will not do it. Bush will be gone in Jan 2009. We need to be ready NOW and ensure we have a more responsive and responsible legislative class and President, but so far I only see phony candidates, turf wars, and jealousy. Our disorganization will be our downfall.

Yeah, and good but tragic picture.

And Canis, your aim and ammunition are perfect as usual. I do wonder how the Cape Wind proposal stacks up against the principles. I am a big fan (ooh, pardon) of windfarms, but they absolutely have to be both sited and operated properly to avoid impacts, such as avian collisions. Done properly, collisions can be reduced to even a lower rate than they crow (ooh, again sorry) about. It appears to me the Cape Wind proposal can't meet the first of those tests, since it would be in such a densely used, natural, near-shore area.

David
Sustainability For Life

Messages done with sustainable energy, with Wind and Sun!

by SustainableGreen at 9:27 AM on 21 Jul 2007

The "Right" Whale

I happen to personally know some of the researchers who conducted the ground-laying work on the subject of whale strikes on the Eastern Seaboard but will refrain from naming them unless I get their permission. The work was exceptionally good, and indicated not only locational but seasonal migration patterns and when to advise a 10-12 knot cruise speed for ships at sea. Slow ships go 15 and fast ships go 25 knots.

The intention here was to advise ships when to slow down based on such seasonal and geographic inputs as well as whale sightings so as to reduce the incidence of ship-whale strikes. This would be done by radio, fax, and other means for the sake of voluntary compliance and protecting right whales. The scientists went as far as to suggest tagging some of the whales so as to track them with satellites, and track the ships by satellite as well, although I am not sure of the details and might be venturing into some shadowy BS here - but as I said, I know the authors well and they are quite creative.

Due to the vagaries of international shipping regulations, it is impossible to set ship speeds except in controlled shipping channels within port systems - it could be possible to do this for US-flagged ships but over 90 percent of the big ones are registered in other countries such as Panama that are allowed "innocent passage." Given those facts, the initial researchers were very smart about how to solve the problem.

I have no idea what happened since then. I will be glad to contact my peeps if you'd like to know more.
sammie

Onward through the fog

by Sam Wells at 9:29 PM on 22 Jul 2007

more

Sammie, sure, would be interested to learn more about this, if your friends are game.

Erik

The Orion Grassroots Network: supporting grassroots groups working for conservation, justice, & more

by Erik Hoffner at 6:26 AM on 23 Jul 2007
[ Parent ]

yes, I would be interested

Thanks, Sammie, for the interesting comment, and the offer. And yes, I would be interested to know where off the East Coast collisions between ships and whales tend to happen -- my reference to the Stellwagen Bank vicinity was just an educated guess, not based on wider scientific observation. Also, which whale species are most vulnerable? Apparently right whales and humpback whales stay up at the surface rather a long time, while minkes and fin-backs stay below, so I would assume the former two are the most vulnerable.

On another note: Little White Dog, my husband and I are setting off today on a motor trip to Santa Fe, so I shall be ignoring internet things for a couple of weeks. Hasta luego.

Chickens deserve our true friendship! So do fish! So do other sentient beings! Let us learn to be kind.

by caniscandida at 6:34 AM on 23 Jul 2007

jeffreys ledge

A pleasure boat hit a fin back last week, which is in part what prompted me to post about this. Not the same issue as big ships and right whales, but Jeffreys Ledge is not far from Stellwagen, Canis:

http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/2007071 ...

The Orion Grassroots Network: supporting grassroots groups working for conservation, justice, & more

by Erik Hoffner at 9:19 AM on 23 Jul 2007

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