5 days ago
Alarming map surrounding Australia highlights growing danger to $3.8 billion industry
Populations of whales that survived decades of hunting now face new threats as they migrate from Antarctica to Australia. On Wednesday, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) launched an interactive map of the world highlighting where the routes of 1,400 whales collide with threats from ships, noise, fossil fuel projects, pollution, fishing and climate change.
Whales are critical to ocean health and play an important role in tourism, creating US$2.1 billion (A$3.8 billion) in global revenue and supporting 13,000 jobs. It's hoped the publicly accessible platform will help stop more species of whale from becoming extinct by pinpointing where the dangers occur. And there are plans to gradually add more data from rarely seen species like beaked whales, of which very little is known.
Of particular concern to WWF is the North Atlantic right whale which continues to be killed by ships and fishing gear entanglement, and with fewer than 70 breeding females left, the species is showing no signs of recovery. Southern right whales that we see in Australia are also of concern because their numbers have cryptically stagnated at a level far below pre-whaling levels.
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Chris Johnson, the global lead for WWF's Protecting Whales and Dolphins Initiative, said the project is designed to be another 'building block' as researchers try to fill gaps in our knowledge about the oceans.
'Whales are these ocean giants that we absolutely love, particularly in Australia, and we still know so little about their migratory patterns,' he told Yahoo News from Melbourne.
'I study sperm whales and there's very little satellite tagging of them, and we don't do a lot of research offshore. We're still discovering new beaked whale species and they're the size of elephants.'
More than 50 global research groups were involved in the map's creation. As more data is added to the platform, researchers will be able to gain new insights into the cumulative impact of multiple man-made threats on whales.
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For instance, the Queensland government announced last week it would be investing $88 million to expand its shark control program, which will include nets known to frequently entangle whale mothers and calves. An average of six whale entanglements a year may not seem like many, but it's adding to a massive global problem.
Johnson said the announcement was 'disappointing' because there are modern alternatives to problematic nets. 'It's concerning because bycatch is probably the biggest issue for cetaceans worldwide. Around 300,000 a year die from entanglement and that's an issue from 25 years ago, so the problem is now probably much bigger,' he said.
Today, seven of the world's 14 great whale species are threatened with extinction, and their migration routes are critical to their breeding and feeding.
Shipping, fishing and gas and oil drilling have been important to industrialisation and the advancement of human interests. Transporting new phones and electric vehicles across the globe, and catching more fish for oil supplements, will continue to enrich our lives, but as more species are lost, the planet becomes less complex and arguably less interesting.
By highlighting where the biggest problem areas are, companies will be empowered to make changes to lessen their impact on whales.
Johnson said there are examples of this already occurring. In the North Atlantic, companies are altering their fishing methods, with some no longer using rope so whales aren't entangled. In Greece, shipping lanes have been modified to reduce the chances of collisions, and similar changes are being made in Asia.
'Off Sri Lanka, there's a big habitat for blue whales in the northern Indian Ocean. It's one of the busiest shipping lanes on Earth,' he said.
'But research has shown if you move the shipping lane 15 nautical miles further south, it'll reduce ship strikes.'
While the government has been slow to respond, shipping companies themselves have been altering their routes in order to reduce the number of strikes. If all of them agree to reroute, the risk of collision would be reduced by 95 per cent.
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