Incidence of ship strikes of large whales in Washington State

• Published in: Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom
• Main Authors: Douglas, Annie B., Calambokidis, John, Raverty, Stephen, Jeffries, Steven J., Lambourn, Dyanna M., Norman, Stephanie A.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2008
• Subjects: Lanes; Balaenoptera physalus; Humpback Whale
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0025315408000295; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0025315408000295

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 ( Bala...