Dear Marmam colleagues,
with this message we would like to enquire about your knowledge of
ships strike events - and remind everybody about the global (IWC)
ship strike data base.
The International Whaling Commission is addressing the problem of
ship strikes since many years and has taken a leading role in this
issue. It's Scientific Committee considers methods of estimating the
number of whales killed from ship strikes; it is also fostering the
dialogue between researchers, Authorities and the shipping industry
and thus takes part in developing mitigation measures. The
Conservation Committee has established a dedicated Ship Strikes
Working Group to set up a five years strategic plan to develop a
policy framework for mitigation of ship strike events and to
co-ordinate work between member governments. The IWC is also working
in conjunction with other international bodies such as the
International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and its Marine
Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC).
Both committees provide a forum to report ship strike cases on the
one hand, and the measures being taken within countries to reduce and
record incidences of ship strikes.
The IWC has developed a standardized global database to report
collisions between vessels and whales. The database is open for
anyone to submit data and includes information on the whales (e.g.,
species, size, observed injuries, etc.) and on the vessels. The
objectives of the database are accurate estimates of mortality and
injuries, to help detect trends over time, to allow better modeling
of risk factors (e.g., vessel type, speed, size), and to identify
high risk or unsuspected problem areas. The data base provides an
on-going facility for collecting new information. Most importantly,
it relies on scientists and mariners providing information.
Therefore, any report of a ship strike is important.
With this, we are looking for new records and invite any of you with
information regarding collision cases or evidence of animals with
clear sign of ship strike to compile the online database at:
<http://data.iwc.int/ShipStrike/logon.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fshipstrike%2fdefault.aspx>http://data.iwc.int/ShipStrike/logon.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fshipstrike%2fdefault.aspx.
Such information can come from witness reports you may have heard of
but also from (your own) scientific publications, etc.
We would like to thank you for your cooperation; please do not
hesitate to get in touch with us in case you need further information
and any assistance.
Please visit the IWC ship strike website to find out more at:
<http://iwc.int/ship-strikes>http://iwc.int/ship-strikes.
Simone Panigada - [email protected]
Fabian Ritter - [email protected]
IWC ship strikes coordinators
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