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

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dc.contributor.authorNichol, Linda M.
dc.contributor.authorWright, Brianna M.
dc.contributor.authorO'Hara, Patrick
dc.contributor.authorFord, John K. B.
dc.date.accessioned2018-07-09T19:09:17Z
dc.date.available2018-07-09T19:09:17Z
dc.date.copyright2017en_US
dc.date.issued2017
dc.description.abstractVessel 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 estimate humpback Megaptera novaeangliae and fin whale Balaenoptera physalus densities off the west coast of Vancouver Island, Canada, including approaches to major shipping lanes in Juan de Fuca Strait, a gateway to the ports of southern British Columbia and Washington State. To predict whale densities, we fit negative binomial generalized additive models (GAMs) to sightings data, incorporating survey effort as an offset, and depth, slope, and latitude as environmental covariates. Humpbacks were primarily observed on the continental shelf, with highest predicted densities along the shelf edge (~200 m isobath), whereas fin whales were primarily distributed west of the shelf break (>450 m depth). We combined GAM-predicted whale densities with vessel traffic data to estimate the relative risk of ship strikes. Since vessel speed is an important determinant of lethality, we also calculated the relative risk of lethal injuries, given the probability that a collision occurs. Humpbacks were most likely to be struck along the shelf edge, the inshore approaches to Juan de Fuca Strait, and within the strait itself. Fin whales were most likely to be struck in the offshore approaches to Juan de Fuca and inside the western portion of the strait. Our study is the first to assess ship strike risk in this region of high whale density and marine traffic use.en_US
dc.description.reviewstatusRevieweden_US
dc.description.scholarlevelFacultyen_US
dc.description.sponsorshipWe are grateful to the pilots, navigational officers, and support staff of Transport Canada's National Aerial Surveillance Program (NASP) and Environment Canada's Marine Aerial Reconnaissance Team (MART), whose expertise and enthusiasm ensured the success of our aerial surveys for cetaceans. We also thank the following individuals for their assistance during the aerial surveys as observers and/or for conducting data entry: Robin Abernethy, Graeme Ellis, Brian Gisborne, James Pilkington, Frances Robertson, Hawsun Sohn, Lisa Spaven, Eva Stredulinsky, and Jared Towers. We thank Christie McMillan for her help in preparing the aerial survey data for spatial analysis. Allan Roberts generously provided code and advice for developing the GAMs in R. Yvan Simard and Nathalie Roy made their 2013 AIS marine traffic dataset available for this study and offered guidance in its use. Angelia Vanderlaan and Robert Kenney gave their advice regarding analytical techniques for evaluating ship strike risk. Thomas Doniol-Valcroze provided recommendations regarding the construction and application of detection functions for large whales. Since its inception in 2011, funding for this project (both financial and in-kind) has been provided by the InterDepartmental Recovery Fund, Transport Canada (NASP), Fisheries and Oceans Canada's Species at Risk Program and Strategic Program for Ecosystem-Based Research and Advice, and the Port of Vancouver.en_US
dc.identifier.citationNichol, L. M.; Wright, B. M.; O’Hara, P.; & Ford, J. K. B. (2017). Risk of lethal vessel strikes to humpback and fin whales off the west coast of Vancouver Island, Canada. Endangered Species Research, 32, 373-390. https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00813en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.3354/esr00813
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1828/9640
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherEndangered Species Researchen_US
dc.subjectvessel strikeen_US
dc.subjectship speeden_US
dc.subjectlethal injuryen_US
dc.subjecthumpback whaleen_US
dc.subjectfin whaleen_US
dc.subjectgeneralized additive modelen_US
dc.subjectdistance samplingen_US
dc.subjectspatial distributionen_US
dc.subjectspatial density modelen_US
dc.titleRisk of lethal vessel strikes to humpback and fin whales off the west coast of Vancouver Island, Canadaen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US

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