Limited regulatory changes could drastically decrease collisions between ships and whales, UW study finds

Increased regulations over only 2.6% of the ocean’s surface could decrease collisions with whales by a large margin, researchers found.

SEATTLE — Today, the leading cause of death in whales is due to collisions with large vessels. A study led by researchers at the University of Washington found that introducing regulations in very select places could have a major impact on whale mortality. 

Global data on whale and ship collisions is hard to come by, so a team led by University of Washington researchers set to work on quantifying the risk for whale-ship collisions for four species of whale: blue, fin, humpback and sperm whales. 

→ Continue reading at King 5

Similar Articles

Advertisment

Most Popular