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Incidence of ship strikes of large whales in Washington State

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 March 2008

Annie B. Douglas ,
John Calambokidis ,
Stephen Raverty ,
Steven J. Jeffries ,
Dyanna M. Lambourn  and
Stephanie A. Norman
Annie B. Douglas*
Affiliation:
Cascadia Research Collective, 218 1/2 W Fourth Avenue, Olympia, WA, 98501, USA
John Calambokidis
Affiliation:
Cascadia Research Collective, 218 1/2 W Fourth Avenue, Olympia, WA, 98501, USA
Stephen Raverty
Affiliation:
Animal Health Center, British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture and Food, 1767 Angus Campbell Road, Abbotsford, BC V3G 2M3Canada
Steven J. Jeffries
Affiliation:
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, 7801 Phillips Road SW, Lakewood, WA, 98498, USA
Dyanna M. Lambourn
Affiliation:
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, 7801 Phillips Road SW, Lakewood, WA, 98498, USA
Stephanie A. Norman
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195USA
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Annie B. Douglas, Cascadia Research Collective, 218 1/2 W Fourth Avenue, Olympia, WA, 98501, USA email: abdouglas@cascadiaresearch.org
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Abstract

Ship strikes of large whales cause mortalities worldwide, but there is uncertainty regarding the frequency and species involved. We examined 130 records (from 1980–2006) of large whale strandings in Washington State. Nineteen strandings (seven species) had evidence of ship-strikes. Fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) had the highest incidence of ante-mortem ship strike (five of seven, with the remaining two possibly post-mortem) and all but one occurring since 2002. Six grey whales (Eschrichtius robustus) suffered ‘possible ship strike’ injuries, likely the result of their large numbers in the area, rather than high levels of ship strikes. Only one possible ship-struck humpback whale was recorded, despite concentrations of humpbacks feeding within shipping lanes in this region. This study shows dramatic differences in occurrences of ship-struck large whales by species, which we believe results from a combination of species' vulnerability to ship strikes, and how likely a struck whale is to be caught up on the bow of a ship and brought to waters where it can be examined.

Keywords

Balaenoptera physalusimmature fin whalegrey whaleship strikestrandingWashington State
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 88 , Special Issue 6: Marine Mammals , September 2008 , pp. 1121 - 1132
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2008

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