Subject: whalewatching and effects on whales (fwd)
Mike Williamson (pita@www1.wheelock.edu)
Thu, 17 Sep 1998 13:06:08 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: newsclip - whalewatching and effects on whales
Conservationists want whale-watching boats to slow down
September 15, 1998
BOSTON (AP) -- Whale watching is as much a New England activity as
eating creamy clam chowder, cracking open lobster or taking in the
fall colors.
That simple, innocent image has been hurt, however, by two recent
accidents in which whales were rammed by high-speed whale-watching
boats.
he collisions, which killed a minke whale and injured a humpback
whale, have prompted soul searching in a $24 million-a-year industry
dedicated to celebrating Earth's largest mammal.
Some marine conservationists argue that the business must be better
regulated and that boat captains should be forced to slow down in
areas where whales feed.
"I still feel horrible," said Capt. Bill Sanchez of the Millennium
catamaran, which hit the humpback whale last month. "I can still feel
that bump when it hit the ship. I never wanted to hurt any of these
animals."
"Something should be done about the speed limits because right now,
there are none," Sanchez said.
On August 2, the 120-foot Millennium -- one of the newest high-speed
catamarans -- struck and injured a 2-year-old humpback whale off
Stellwagen Bank, at the northern tip of Cape Cod. Sanchez said he sped
up to about 21 mph because he thought there were no whales in the
area.
On Saturday, the 80-foot-long Whale Watch cruise ship struck and
killed a 20-foot minke whale while on its way back to Cape Cod's
Barnstable Harbor, according to Mason Weinrich of the Cetacean
Research Unit in Gloucester.
Horrified passengers said the whale's body was gored and bloody when
it emerged in the boat's wake. Officials from the company that owns
the boat did not return phone calls seeking comment on Monday.
The U.S. Coast Guard has scheduled a meeting next week that will focus
on the shared interest between boats and those who seek to protect
marine mammals.
Federal regulations require that whale-watch vessels stay at least 100
feet from whales and never approach them head-on. But often that is
difficult when some ships can reach speeds of more than 40 mph.
"There are currently restrictions on how close the boats can get to
endangered species," said Lt. Joe Duffy of the Coast Guard's Marine
Safety Division. "But there are no restrictions on how fast the boats
can go."
National regulations for whale-watching tour companies were proposed
in the early 1990s but many New England companies rejected the idea,
saying they already had adequate guidelines, according to Nina Young,
a research scientist for the Center for Marine Conservation, based in
Washington, D.C.
"Because the New England congressional delegation was very strong back
then, those whale-watching regulations were withdrawn," Young said.
"Now is a good time to revisit the whole question."
Weinrich said setting speed limits of about 13 mph in areas such as
Stellwagen Bank, a protected marine sanctuary, would be a good place
to start. Still, he acknowledged, such restrictions may be hard to
enforce.
This summer has been one of the busiest seasons for more than 20
whale-watching companies in New England. Passengers typically pay an
average of $24 for a half-day trip to encounter humpbacks, minke and
fin whales.
Whale watching as a commercial activity began in North America in 1955
along the Southern California coast. New England has since grown to
account for nearly half of all whale-watching tours on the continent,
according to the New England Whale Watching Association.
"There is a growing trend in New England to use bigger and faster
ships, but are we really looking at what impact it will have?" Young
said.
"We really need to ask ourselves if it is necessary to get from one
place to another at such a pace that it jeopardizes people and
animals."