Plans proposed to protect Panama Canal whales
9th July 2012
Proposals have been submitted to restrict Panama Canal shipping lanes in order to create a safer environment for the humpback whales that breed around the canal's entrance
Panamanian officials and scientists suggested the plan, which would involve 'funnelling' ships into parallel lanes, hopefully reducing the area where the whales would be at risk by around 95%. Ships would also have to slow down to ten knots in the area during breeding season.
The plans were presented at the International Whaling Commission (IWC) annual meeting in Panama City and should be presented for discussion by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) next year.
Tomas Guardia, director-general for international organisations with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Panama's commissioner to the IWC, said: "Many Panamanians were previously not aware of the resource we have close to our city, and in fact one of the reasons for hosting the IWC was to raise awareness of our marine environment."
Around 900 of the whales breed around Las Perlas archipelago just off the Gulf of Panama; Central America's southernmost point. They breed around 60km from the canal's southern entrance, and are disturbed, sometimes even killed, by the shipping vessels accessing the canal. The area has seen 13 whale deaths in two and a half years, some probably as a result of being hit by a ship.
One study attached satellite tags to 15 humpback whales, and saw 98 interactions between whales and ships in just 11 days (an interaction being within 200m from each other). One whale had 45 encounters in just four days. Around 17,000 large ships pass through Panamanian waters every year.
The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute's Hector Guzman, who developed the plan, said that narrowing the ship routes will spare lives of many of the whales, particularly the humpbacks which inhabit the gulf.
“We're increasing the buffer of protection between the mainland and the shipping lanes in a region where we have five different protected areas including World Heritage Sites,” he said. "Our study suggests that the area for potential whale-vessel collisions could be reduced by 93% if the Traffic Separation Scheme in the Gulf of Panama is implemented. But in general it is a win-win situation because vessels in general will benefit by having some order in their routes."
The whales migrate to the area around late June; the Las Perlas waters see an annual plankton bloom around this time of year, and whale-watching is one of the main tourist attractions of the area.
If approved, the plans could be pursued as soon as 2013.
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