Risk of lethal vessel strikes to humpback and fin whales off the west coast of Vancouver Island, Canada

• Published in: Endangered Species Research
• Main Authors: Nichol, Linda M., Wright, Brianna M., O'Hara, Patrick, Ford, John K. B.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Endangered Species Research 2017
• Subjects: vessel strike; ship speed; lethal injury; humpback whale; fin whale; generalized additive model; distance sampling; spatial distribution; spatial density model; Canada; British Columbia; Gam; Lanes; Balaenoptera physalus; baleen whales; Fin whale; Humpback Whale; Megaptera novaeangliae
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00813; https://dspace.library.uvic.ca//handle/1828/9640

Vessel strikes are a source of mortality and injury for baleen whales, which can have population-level impacts. Spatial analysis of whale and marine traffic distributions provides a valuable approach for identifying zones with high collision risk. We conducted 34 systematic aerial surveys to estimat...