[MARMAM] article on ship strike in the Med

[Lea David]

Dear all,

we are pleased to announce the publication of our following article :

Di-Méglio N, David L. and Monestiez P.// - Sperm whale ship strikes in 
the Pelagos Sanctuary and adjacent waters: assessing and mapping 
collision risks in summer 
<http://www.ecoocean-institut.org/images/documents_pdf/recherche/impact/di-meglio 
et al_2018.pdf>. /J. CETACEAN RES. MANAGE. /18: 135–147, 2018**

ABSTRACT
Collisions with large vessels potentially present a major conservation 
issue for sperm whales in the Pelagos Sanctuary in the northwestern
Mediterranean Sea. The exact numbers and locations of ship strikes 
remain largely unknown at present. In this study, sightings of sperm 
whales in
summer (June–September) were gathered for the period between 1998 and 
2008 from nine French and Italian organisations, together covering an
area of more than 68,000km. Working on a regular grid of 0.1° × 0.1° 
latitude/longitude cells, approximate surface density of the whales was
calculated using kriging methods. A database of shipping lanes of 
ferries and merchant vessels was assembled, and traffic density was mapped
(kilometres travelled per cell). The data was overlayed and multiplied, 
using ArcGis, to create a relative density surface map of sperm whales
correlated with the relative density of maritime traffic. Several maps 
of collision risk were drawn up according to the speed class of the 
vessels. Of
living animals that had been photo-identified, 9% had scars attributed 
to ship strike. Results show that sperm whales are at high risk from 
merchant
vessels along the French and Italian continental coasts and at risk from 
conventional ferries on the east side of the islands of Corsica and 
Sardinia.
It was calculated that 74 animals could be in a ship strike risk 
situation during the summer period in the Pelagos Sanctuary. Based on 
these results,
mitigation measures already in place were reviewed and new measures to 
reduce ship strike risk are suggested.

KEYWORDS: SPERM WHALE; MEDITERRANEAN SEA; SHIP STRIKE; MODELLING; 
DISTRIBUTION; MARINE PROTECTED AREA

Feel free to visit the webpage https://iwc.int/jcrm to download the 
article, or to send a request to : ecoocean at wanadoo.fr


Léa David ; Nathalie Di-Méglio ; Pascal Monestiez

-- 
EcoOcéan Institut
18 rue des Hospices
34090 Montpellier
FRANCE
+33 (0)467842887
ecoocean at wanadoo.fr
http://www.ecoocean-institut.org

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