Consequence of Global Shipping Routes for Marine Giants
Researchers from Macquarie University are calling for a rethink of
global shipping routes, to protect whales and sharks from becoming marine
‘roadkill’.
More than 10 billion metric tons of goods travel
by sea each year, making up 80 per cent of the world’s merchandise trade. The continual growth of the shipping trade and
rebounding of some whale populations post-whaling is leading to increasing
clashes between cargo ships and marine giants. Melting sea ice has opened up
new shipping routes through previously untouched whale habitats.
Deadly ship strikes are not the only threat to
the animals, with vessel noise disrupting whales’ delicate communication, and
chemical pollution and heavily used routes fragmenting habitats. Whale researcher Dr. Vanessa Pirotta from Macquarie University said lessons from the wildlife impacts of
roads could be applied to the ocean, to prevent marine giants becoming
‘roadkill’.
“New shipping routes through whale habitat put
vulnerable species at risk, and this study provides a new understanding of how
to mitigate shipping traffic impacts on these marine giants,” says Vanessa.
The publication was a collaboration with James Cook University and authors propose limiting the
creation of new shipping routes in areas such as the Arctic and broadening
shipping exclusion zones to take into account the impact of ships beyond the
marine roads themselves, such as noise pollution and chemical contamination.
