Dear Marmam friends and colleagues,
with this message we would like to provide our yearly update on the issue of
ship strikes (collisions between ships and cetaceans) and at the same time
enquire about your knowledge of incidents. Also, and most importantly, we want
to remind everybody about the global IWC ship strike database.
The International Whaling Commission (IWC) is addressing the problem of ship
strikes since many years and has taken a leading role in this issue
(seehttp://iwc.int/ship-strikes). It's Scientific Committee (SC) 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 (CC) has established a dedicated Ship Strikes Working
Group to develop a policy framework for mitigation of ship strike events and to
co-ordinate work between member governments. Both SC and CC provide a forum to
report ship strike cases, and the measures being taken within countries to
reduce and record incidences of ship strikes.
The IWC is also working in conjunction with other international bodies such as
the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) as well as with shipping
associations, NGOs and regional groups.
The IWC has developed a global database to report collisions between vessels
and whales. The database is open for anyone to submit data on collision events,
including both information on whales (e.g., species, size, observed injuries,
etc.) as well as on vessels. The objectives of the database are to deliver
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 database provides an
on-going facility for collecting new information, and most importantly, it
relies on scientists and mariners providing information. Therefore, any report
of a ship strike is particularly important.
With this communication, we are looking for new records and would like to
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:https://portal.iwc.int/shipstrike.
Such information can come from witness reports you may have heard of, but also
from (your own) scientific publications, etc.
Please note that the database has recently received a thorough revision and has
a complete new design, to make it more user-friendly.
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 or any assistance.
Please visit the IWC ship strike website to find out more
at:http://iwc.int/ship-strikes.
Simone Panigada [email protected] mailto:[email protected]
Fabian Ritter [email protected] mailto:[email protected]
IWC ship strikes coordinators
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