Collisions with vessels are one of the primary threats to marine mammals, particularly large whales, along the U.S. West Coast and around the world.
All sizes and types of vessels can hit whales. The U.S. West Coast has some of the heaviest ship traffic associated with some of the largest ports in the country, including the Ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach, San Francisco, Seattle, and the Columbia River.
Of all the large whale species that inhabit our coastline, Blue, Fin, Humpback, and Gray whales are the most vulnerable to vessel strikes because they migrate along the coast and many use areas along the coast for feeding, where they overlap with heavy shipping traffic. Gray, Fin, Humpback, and Minke whales are observed in the inland waters of Washington, including the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Salish Sea, and may also be vulnerable to ship strikes there.
Gray whales from the Pacific Coast Feeding Aggregation do not complete the typical gray whale migration that begins in late fall and ends near the beginning of June. They are also vulnerable to ship strikes when feeding near Whidbey and Camano Islands.
NOAA Fisheries has collaborated with NOAA Sanctuaries and the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) to effect changes in shipping lanes that should help reduce the risk of ships striking large whales. The USCG is responsible for establishing and modifying shipping lanes under the Ports and Waterways Safety Act. Whenever the USCG considers making changes to existing shipping lanes, it initiates a Port Access Route Study (PARS) process to study options and to allow the public and government agencies the opportunity to provide input.
NOAA Fisheries provided the USCG with information on the abundance and distribution of whales as part of the PARS for shipping routes in the Los Angeles/Long Beach and San Francisco areas, the two major ports in California. This information was included in the PARS and in the USCG’s recommendations, which would shift shipping lanes in ways to help reduce the overlap of ships and large whales. In 2012, the USCG took their recommendations to the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The IMO approved the recommendations and in July 2013, the shipping lanes shifted.
NOAA Fisheries has worked with the Southern California Marine Exchange to coordinate meetings with shipping industry leaders to discuss the issue of large whale ship strikes. NOAA Fisheries works with the USCG, industry representatives, and NOAA Weather Service to alert mariners of the presence of large whales, as a way to raise awareness and help prevent strikes. NOAA Fisheries staff have served on stakeholder groups established to improve understanding and develop a plan to help reduce ship strikes.
To report a dead, injured, or stranded marine mammal:
To report entangled marine mammals:
To report harassments and other violations to law enforcement:
To report derelict gear:
Every year NOAA Fisheries works with the USCG to broadcast and publish local notices to mariners to alert vessel operators about the presence of large whales, particularly in and around shipping lanes. In collaboration with NOAA's National Marine Sanctuary partners and the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association, we created and distributed an educational poster about the four large whale species most commonly found along the West Coast. The goal of the poster is to educate mariners about large whales off the West Coast and to encourage them to report sightings and whales in distress.
NOAA Fisheries’ scientists rely on educational institutions, other agencies, and other partners focusing on an assessment of the risk of a large vessel hitting a large whale. We recognize that any vessel type can hit a marine mammal and it is expected that the data we collect through our current efforts will aid in any future efforts to reduce the risk of any type of vessel strike with a large whale. We also rely on our shipping industry leaders and representatives, local Marine Mammal Stranding Networks, and other stakeholder groups.
Alaska salmon troller Bay of Pillars in Chatham Strait. Credit: NOAA Fisheries
A Southeast Alaska trolling vessel. Credit ASMI
A U.S. Fish and Wildlife employee reintroduces salmon into a Central Valley river.
Aerial view of restored floodplain habitat and agricultural property near Sacramento, California.