Whale mortality from ship strikes in Ecuador and West Africa
We document two unusual cases of a Bryde's and a sei whale struck by container cargo vessels and draped over the bow bulb, respectively in the Southeast Pacific and the Eastern Tropical Atlantic. The 207m-length P&O Nedlloyd Pantanal collided with an adult Bryde's whale Balaenoptera ed...
Published in: | Latin American Journal of Aquatic Mammals |
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Language: | English |
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2005
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Online Access: | https://www.vliz.be/imisdocs/publications/242724.pdf |
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ftvliz:oai:oma.vliz.be:222514 2023-05-15T15:36:16+02:00 Whale mortality from ship strikes in Ecuador and West Africa Félix, F. Van Waerebeek, K. 2005 application/pdf https://www.vliz.be/imisdocs/publications/242724.pdf en eng info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/oi.org/10.5597/lajam00070 https://www.vliz.be/imisdocs/publications/242724.pdf info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess %3Ci%3ELat.+Am.+J.+Aquat.+Mamm.+4%281%29%3C%2Fi%3E%3A+55-60.+%3Ca+href%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.5597%2Flajam00070%22+target%3D%22_blank%22%3Ehttp%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.5597%2Flajam00070%3C%2Fa%3E Balaenoptera borealis [Sei whale] Balaenoptera edeni [Bryde's whale] Megaptera novaeangliae info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 2005 ftvliz https://doi.org/10.5597/lajam00070 2022-05-01T09:55:02Z We document two unusual cases of a Bryde's and a sei whale struck by container cargo vessels and draped over the bow bulb, respectively in the Southeast Pacific and the Eastern Tropical Atlantic. The 207m-length P&O Nedlloyd Pantanal collided with an adult Bryde's whale Balaenoptera edeni in the southern Gulf of Guayaquil, Ecuador, on 10 December 2004. The whale showed massive dermal hematoma indicating that it was alive when struck. Similarly, the container ship OSNA Bruck arrived at Dakar port, Senegal, on 19 March 1998 with the fresh carcass of a juvenile sei whale B. borealis on its bow bulb. The collision occurred between Las Palmas, Gran Canaria and Dakar, Senegal. Freshly dead balaenopterids can hardly be picked up by ships since they sink at death and do not float until decomposition and bloating sets in. A review of previous cases show that ship strikes are rarely recorded in these regions, partly due to the lack of regulations, including no reporting obligation. However, the case studies reveal that another factor may severely augment under-reporting of ship strike mortality. In both instances the crew became aware of the collision only upon arrival at port, suggesting that whales which are hit and killed or wounded, but do not become draped over the bow bulb (if the vessel has one), go unnoticed. The probability of bow draping may be low, and modelling should be attempted. National authorities are encouraged to improve data collection and introduce regulations such as mandatory reporting. These are the first fully documented, fatal whale collisions in Ecuador and West Africa (south of the Canary Islands), and the first struck and killed Bryde's whale in the Southeast Pacific. Article in Journal/Newspaper Balaenoptera borealis Megaptera novaeangliae Sei Whale Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ): Open Marine Archive (OMA) Guayaquil ENVELOPE(-59.767,-59.767,-62.449,-62.449) Las Palmas ENVELOPE(-60.674,-60.674,-62.971,-62.971) Pacific Latin American Journal of Aquatic Mammals 4 1 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ): Open Marine Archive (OMA) |
op_collection_id |
ftvliz |
language |
English |
topic |
Balaenoptera borealis [Sei whale] Balaenoptera edeni [Bryde's whale] Megaptera novaeangliae |
spellingShingle |
Balaenoptera borealis [Sei whale] Balaenoptera edeni [Bryde's whale] Megaptera novaeangliae Félix, F. Van Waerebeek, K. Whale mortality from ship strikes in Ecuador and West Africa |
topic_facet |
Balaenoptera borealis [Sei whale] Balaenoptera edeni [Bryde's whale] Megaptera novaeangliae |
description |
We document two unusual cases of a Bryde's and a sei whale struck by container cargo vessels and draped over the bow bulb, respectively in the Southeast Pacific and the Eastern Tropical Atlantic. The 207m-length P&O Nedlloyd Pantanal collided with an adult Bryde's whale Balaenoptera edeni in the southern Gulf of Guayaquil, Ecuador, on 10 December 2004. The whale showed massive dermal hematoma indicating that it was alive when struck. Similarly, the container ship OSNA Bruck arrived at Dakar port, Senegal, on 19 March 1998 with the fresh carcass of a juvenile sei whale B. borealis on its bow bulb. The collision occurred between Las Palmas, Gran Canaria and Dakar, Senegal. Freshly dead balaenopterids can hardly be picked up by ships since they sink at death and do not float until decomposition and bloating sets in. A review of previous cases show that ship strikes are rarely recorded in these regions, partly due to the lack of regulations, including no reporting obligation. However, the case studies reveal that another factor may severely augment under-reporting of ship strike mortality. In both instances the crew became aware of the collision only upon arrival at port, suggesting that whales which are hit and killed or wounded, but do not become draped over the bow bulb (if the vessel has one), go unnoticed. The probability of bow draping may be low, and modelling should be attempted. National authorities are encouraged to improve data collection and introduce regulations such as mandatory reporting. These are the first fully documented, fatal whale collisions in Ecuador and West Africa (south of the Canary Islands), and the first struck and killed Bryde's whale in the Southeast Pacific. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Félix, F. Van Waerebeek, K. |
author_facet |
Félix, F. Van Waerebeek, K. |
author_sort |
Félix, F. |
title |
Whale mortality from ship strikes in Ecuador and West Africa |
title_short |
Whale mortality from ship strikes in Ecuador and West Africa |
title_full |
Whale mortality from ship strikes in Ecuador and West Africa |
title_fullStr |
Whale mortality from ship strikes in Ecuador and West Africa |
title_full_unstemmed |
Whale mortality from ship strikes in Ecuador and West Africa |
title_sort |
whale mortality from ship strikes in ecuador and west africa |
publishDate |
2005 |
url |
https://www.vliz.be/imisdocs/publications/242724.pdf |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-59.767,-59.767,-62.449,-62.449) ENVELOPE(-60.674,-60.674,-62.971,-62.971) |
geographic |
Guayaquil Las Palmas Pacific |
geographic_facet |
Guayaquil Las Palmas Pacific |
genre |
Balaenoptera borealis Megaptera novaeangliae Sei Whale |
genre_facet |
Balaenoptera borealis Megaptera novaeangliae Sei Whale |
op_source |
%3Ci%3ELat.+Am.+J.+Aquat.+Mamm.+4%281%29%3C%2Fi%3E%3A+55-60.+%3Ca+href%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.5597%2Flajam00070%22+target%3D%22_blank%22%3Ehttp%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.5597%2Flajam00070%3C%2Fa%3E |
op_relation |
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/oi.org/10.5597/lajam00070 https://www.vliz.be/imisdocs/publications/242724.pdf |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5597/lajam00070 |
container_title |
Latin American Journal of Aquatic Mammals |
container_volume |
4 |
container_issue |
1 |
_version_ |
1766366607099035648 |