On May 14, 9:35*am, Wayne.B wrote:
On Wed, 12 May 2010 19:50:04 -0700 (PDT), Bil
wrote:

The Belgian Ministry of Environment is happy to inform you about the
release of a folder on ship strikes with whales. Ship strikes are now
a recognized cause of mortality for whales globally.

They have also been recognized as a source of mortality for sailboats
and their occupants. *Are you suggesting that we should ban shipping
to save the whales?

The effects of whale strike on sailboats is why I, as a cruising
sailor, posted the message from the Belgian Ministry of Environment.

Far from suggesting a ban on shipping, the documents at the Belgian
Ministry of Environment suggest (1) collect data about the risks; and
(2) consider mitigation strategies. To date, mitigation strategies
include re-routing shipping lanes and changing ship speed slightly.

A good database of whale/sailboat strikes might lead to mitigation
specific to cruisers. At the moment, we don't know whether - for
example - sailing with a sonar depth sounder operating avoids whale/
sailboat strikes. That's why a database with details of where/when/
under what conditions would be valuable.

See the text as it reads today on mitigation:

Mitigation measures

It may sound obvious but the most effective way to reduce collision
risk is to keep whales and ships apart. This is not as easy as it
sounds for both scientific and logistical reasons, but it has been
achieved in some areas. In particular, it relies on good information
and predictable patterns of whale (and vessel) distribution as well as
a practicable alternative route for shipping. For example, in the Bay
of Fundy off the east coast of Canada, long-term data on North
Atlantic whale distribution allowed a small adjustment to the shipping
lane, adding minimal passage time to shipping, but achieving a
substantial reduction in collision risk. A similar approach has been
used for shipping lanes approaching the port of Boston on the east
coast of the USA.

In other areas, there is no practicable alternative route for shipping
and other solutions need to be considered. There is good evidence that
ships travelling at slower speeds pose less of a collision risk4. In
areas where there is a particular concern, vessels have been requested
to slow down. For example, there is an area in approaches to the
Strait of Gibraltar that appears particularly important to sperm
whales, but would be difficult for vessels to avoid. Measures to
regulate shipping, such as modifying mandatory shipping lanes or
establishing areas to be avoided, are decided by the International
Maritime Organization. In 2008, the Marine Environment Protection
Committee of the IMO included the development of a guidance document
on minimizing the risk of ship strikes with cetaceans into its work
programme.