High rate of ship strike to large whales off Chile: Historical data and proposed actions to reduce risk

Toro, Frederick; Buchan, Susannah J.; Alvarado-Rybak, Mario; Bedrinana-Romano, Luis; Garcia-Cegarra, Ana M.; Hucke-Gaete, Rodrigo; Olavarria, Carlos; Sepulveda, Maritza; Galletti-Vernazzani, Barbara; Sielfeld, Walter; Aguayo, Anelio; Capella, Juan; Perez-Alvarez, Maria Jose; Viddi, Francisco; Caceres, Benjamin; Gibbons Escobar, Jorge Eduardo; Acevedo, Jorge; Guzman, Hector; Guerra, Jorge; Saez, Ricardo

doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2024.106577

High rate of ship strike to large whales off Chile: Historical data and proposed actions to reduce risk

Toro, Frederick

[1];

Buchan, Susannah J.

[2];

Alvarado-Rybak, Mario

[3];

Bedrinana-Romano, Luis

[2];

Garcia-Cegarra, Ana M.

[4];

Hucke-Gaete, Rodrigo

[5];

Olavarria, Carlos

[6];

Sepulveda, Maritza

[7];

Galletti-Vernazzani, Barbara

[8];

Sielfeld, Walter

[5];

Aguayo, Anelio

[9];

Capella, Juan

[10];

Perez-Alvarez, Maria Jose

[11];

Viddi, Francisco

[5];

Caceres, Benjamin

[12];

Gibbons Escobar, Jorge Eduardo

[13];

Acevedo, Jorge

[14];

Guzman, Hector

[15];

Guerra, Jorge

[16];

Saez, Ricardo

[17];

Seguel, Mauricio

[18];

Fishbach, M. Michael

[19]

¹
Universidad Santo Tomas
²
Universidad de Concepcion
³
Universidad de Las Americas - Chile
⁴
Universidad de Antofagasta
⁵
Universidad Austral de Chile
⁶
Ctr Estudios Avanzados Zonas Aridas CEAZA
⁷
Universidad de Valparaiso
⁸
Ctr Conservac Cetacea
⁹
Inst Antartico Chileno INACH
¹⁰
Whalesound LTD
¹¹
Ctr Invest Eutropia
¹²
Museo Hist Nat Rio Seco
¹³
Instituto de la Patagonia
¹⁴
Ctr Estudios Cuaternario Fuego Patagonia & Antarti
¹⁵
Smithsonian Institution
¹⁶
Unidad Biodivers & Gest Ecosistem
¹⁷
Minist Econ Fomento & Turismo
¹⁸
University of Guelph
¹⁹
Great Whale Conservancy

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2024.106577

Date Issued

2025-04

Type

Artículo

Journal

Marine Policy

ISSN

0308-597X

1872-9460

Volume

174

Links

https://arca.umag.cl/handle/123456789/15627

Ship strikes are a worldwide threat to large whales as a major cause of mortality and injury. In the Southeast Pacific, this has been poorly studied. In the last decade, an increase in ship strikes has been observed off Chile. This study assesses ship strike mortality in large whales off Chile using data on fatal strandings from the past 52 years, (1972-2023) and vessel traffic patterns. In 63 out of 226 strandings (28 %), ship strike was the direct or probable cause of mortality, i.e. the primary cause of non-natural death in whales. Fin whales (B. physalus) suffered highest total ship strikes (n = 23; 37%), followed by humpback (M. novaeangliae) (n =13; 21 %), blue whales (B. musculus) (n = 7; 11 %), sei (B. borealis) and sperm whales (P. macrocephalus) (n = 6; 10 %). Ship strikes were highest in the Regions of Valparaiso, Coquimbo, Atacama and Antofagasta (Central-Northern Chile), Los Lagos, Aysen and Magallanes (Southern Chile). Since 2013, when necropsies began to be systematically performed, an average of 5 individuals/year have been killed by ships, mostly between January and May. We review all ship strike studies globally and compare rates in Chile with those elsewhere. Based on data between 2013 and 2023, Chile is the country with the highest ship strike mortality globally; considering the entire time series since 1972, Chile ranks number six worldwide. We identify major knowledge gaps and recommend policy measures, including establishing High-Risk Areas and the implementation of shipping lanes modifications and vessel speed restrictions.

ships strike

whales

chile

strandings

marine policy

Name

17.-High-rate-of-ship-strike-to-large-whales-off-Chile_-Historical-data-and-proposed-actions-to-reduce-risk.pdf

Size

4.97 MB

Format

Adobe PDF

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