Whale mortality from ship collisions underreported, case studies from Ecuador and West Africa. Scientific Committee document SC/57/BC1, International Whaling Commission, May-June 2005, Ulsan, Korea

• Main Authors: Félix, F., Van Waerebeek, K.
• Format: Book
• Language: English
• Published: 2005
• Subjects: Balaenoptera borealis [Sei whale]; Balaenoptera edeni [Bryde's whale]; Megaptera novaeangliae; Guayaquil; Las Palmas; Pacific; Balaenoptera borealis; Sei Whale
• Online Access: https://www.vliz.be/imisdocs/publications/243202.pdf

We document two cases of whales struck by container cargo vessels, one each 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, pinned on the bow, showed massive hypodermal hematoma indicating that it was alive when struck. In a similar case off West Africa, 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 wrapped on the bow bulb. Collision occurred between Las Palmas, Canary Islands, and Dakar, Senegal. A review of previous cases show that ship strikes are rarely reported in these regions, partly due to the lack of regulations including obligation to report collisions. In both instances the crew was aware of the event only upon arrival at port, suggesting that whales which are hit and killed or wounded, but do not become wedged on the bow go entirely unnoticed. These are the first fatal whale collisions documented in Ecuador and West Africa south of Canary Islands, and the first of a Bryde’s whale in the Southeast Pacific. National authorities are encouraged to improve data collection and introduce regulations including obligatory reporting.