Ship collision risk threatens whales across the world's oceans

Anna C. Nisi; Heather Welch; Stephanie Brodie; Callie Leiphardt; Rachel Rhodes; Elliott L. Hazen; Jessica V. Redfern; Trevor A. Branch; Andre S. Barreto; John Calambokidis; Tyler Clavelle; Lauren Dares; Asha de Vos; Shane Gero; Jennifer A. Jackson; Robert D. Kenney; David Kroodsma; Russell Leaper; Douglas J. McCauley; Sue E. Moore; Ekaterina Ovsyanikova; Simone Panigada; Chloe V. Robinson; Tim White; Jono Wilson; Briana Abrahms

doi:10.1126/science.adp1950

Ship collision risk threatens whales across the world's oceans

Anna C. Nisi, Heather Welch, Stephanie Brodie, Callie Leiphardt, Rachel Rhodes, Elliott L. Hazen, Jessica V. Redfern, Trevor A. Branch, Andre S. Barreto, John Calambokidis, Tyler Clavelle, Lauren Dares, Asha de Vos, Shane Gero, Jennifer A. Jackson, Robert D. Kenney, David Kroodsma, Russell Leaper, Douglas J. McCauley, Sue E. MooreEkaterina Ovsyanikova, Simone Panigada, Chloe V. Robinson, Tim White, Jono Wilson, Briana Abrahms

UWA Oceans Institute

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

After the near-complete cessation of commercial whaling, ship collisions have emerged as a primary threat to large whales, but knowledge of collision risk is lacking across most of the world's oceans. We compiled a dataset of 435,000 whale locations to generate global distribution models for four globally ranging species. We then combined >35 billion positions from 176,000 ships to produce a global estimate of whale-ship collision risk. Shipping occurs across 92% of whale ranges, and <7% of risk hotspots contain management strategies to reduce collisions. Full coverage of hotspots could be achieved by expanding management over only 2.6% of the ocean's surface. These inferences support the continued recovery of large whales against the backdrop of a rapidly growing shipping industry.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	870-875
Number of pages	6
Journal	Science (New York, N.Y.)
Volume	386
Issue number	6724
Early online date	21 Nov 2024
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adp1950
Publication status	Published - 22 Nov 2024

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Nisi, A. C., Welch, H., Brodie, S., Leiphardt, C., Rhodes, R., Hazen, E. L., Redfern, J. V., Branch, T. A., Barreto, A. S., Calambokidis, J., Clavelle, T., Dares, L., de Vos, A., Gero, S., Jackson, J. A., Kenney, R. D., Kroodsma, D., Leaper, R., McCauley, D. J., ... Abrahms, B. (2024). Ship collision risk threatens whales across the world's oceans. Science (New York, N.Y.), 386(6724), 870-875. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adp1950

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title = "Ship collision risk threatens whales across the world's oceans",

abstract = "After the near-complete cessation of commercial whaling, ship collisions have emerged as a primary threat to large whales, but knowledge of collision risk is lacking across most of the world's oceans. We compiled a dataset of 435,000 whale locations to generate global distribution models for four globally ranging species. We then combined >35 billion positions from 176,000 ships to produce a global estimate of whale-ship collision risk. Shipping occurs across 92% of whale ranges, and <7% of risk hotspots contain management strategies to reduce collisions. Full coverage of hotspots could be achieved by expanding management over only 2.6% of the ocean's surface. These inferences support the continued recovery of large whales against the backdrop of a rapidly growing shipping industry.",

author = "Nisi, {Anna C.} and Heather Welch and Stephanie Brodie and Callie Leiphardt and Rachel Rhodes and Hazen, {Elliott L.} and Redfern, {Jessica V.} and Branch, {Trevor A.} and Barreto, {Andre S.} and John Calambokidis and Tyler Clavelle and Lauren Dares and {de Vos}, Asha and Shane Gero and Jackson, {Jennifer A.} and Kenney, {Robert D.} and David Kroodsma and Russell Leaper and McCauley, {Douglas J.} and Moore, {Sue E.} and Ekaterina Ovsyanikova and Simone Panigada and Robinson, {Chloe V.} and Tim White and Jono Wilson and Briana Abrahms",

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doi = "10.1126/science.adp1950",

language = "English",

volume = "386",

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Nisi, AC, Welch, H, Brodie, S, Leiphardt, C, Rhodes, R, Hazen, EL, Redfern, JV, Branch, TA, Barreto, AS, Calambokidis, J, Clavelle, T, Dares, L, de Vos, A, Gero, S, Jackson, JA, Kenney, RD, Kroodsma, D, Leaper, R, McCauley, DJ, Moore, SE, Ovsyanikova, E, Panigada, S, Robinson, CV, White, T, Wilson, J & Abrahms, B 2024, 'Ship collision risk threatens whales across the world's oceans', Science (New York, N.Y.), vol. 386, no. 6724, pp. 870-875. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adp1950

TY - JOUR

T1 - Ship collision risk threatens whales across the world's oceans

AU - Nisi, Anna C.

AU - Welch, Heather

AU - Brodie, Stephanie

AU - Leiphardt, Callie

AU - Rhodes, Rachel

AU - Hazen, Elliott L.

AU - Redfern, Jessica V.

AU - Branch, Trevor A.

AU - Barreto, Andre S.

AU - Calambokidis, John

AU - Clavelle, Tyler

AU - Dares, Lauren

AU - de Vos, Asha

AU - Gero, Shane

AU - Jackson, Jennifer A.

AU - Kenney, Robert D.

AU - Kroodsma, David

AU - Leaper, Russell

AU - McCauley, Douglas J.

AU - Moore, Sue E.

AU - Ovsyanikova, Ekaterina

AU - Panigada, Simone

AU - Robinson, Chloe V.

AU - White, Tim

AU - Wilson, Jono

AU - Abrahms, Briana

PY - 2024/11/22

Y1 - 2024/11/22

N2 - After the near-complete cessation of commercial whaling, ship collisions have emerged as a primary threat to large whales, but knowledge of collision risk is lacking across most of the world's oceans. We compiled a dataset of 435,000 whale locations to generate global distribution models for four globally ranging species. We then combined >35 billion positions from 176,000 ships to produce a global estimate of whale-ship collision risk. Shipping occurs across 92% of whale ranges, and <7% of risk hotspots contain management strategies to reduce collisions. Full coverage of hotspots could be achieved by expanding management over only 2.6% of the ocean's surface. These inferences support the continued recovery of large whales against the backdrop of a rapidly growing shipping industry.

AB - After the near-complete cessation of commercial whaling, ship collisions have emerged as a primary threat to large whales, but knowledge of collision risk is lacking across most of the world's oceans. We compiled a dataset of 435,000 whale locations to generate global distribution models for four globally ranging species. We then combined >35 billion positions from 176,000 ships to produce a global estimate of whale-ship collision risk. Shipping occurs across 92% of whale ranges, and <7% of risk hotspots contain management strategies to reduce collisions. Full coverage of hotspots could be achieved by expanding management over only 2.6% of the ocean's surface. These inferences support the continued recovery of large whales against the backdrop of a rapidly growing shipping industry.

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EP - 875

JO - Science (New York, N.Y.)

JF - Science (New York, N.Y.)

IS - 6724

ER -

Ship collision risk threatens whales across the world's oceans

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