Protecting Blue Whales and Blue Skies in California's National Marine Sanctuaries - Livestream

Please join ACS San Francisco Bay Chapter and Jess Morten, Director of the Marine Resource Protection Program at the California Marine Sanctuary Foundation (CMSF), as we delve into the efforts to halt or reduce fatal collisions between ships and whales. Global shipping is vital to the economy, but high volumes of large vessel traffic off of our coastlines have negative impacts on public health and the marine environment. Large vessels traveling at higher speeds produce more emissions that contribute to reduced air quality in our coastal communities, increased underwater noise, and a higher risk of fatal collisions with whales. Known as ship strikes, these collisions are a main contributor to large whale mortality globally and in California's waters. There have been 53 recorded incidents of fatal ship strikes on endangered whale species in California from 2007-2022, and modelers estimate that these observed and documented incidents represent only a small fraction of the total number of fatal ship strikes taking place. To mitigate this global and regional threat to large whales, NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries in California - which includes Greater Farallones, Cordell Bank, Monterey Bay, and Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuaries - works alongside many partners to implement conservation measures to reduce ship strike risk, including collaborating with international and federal partners to reconfigure shipping lanes and engaging with industry to implement an incentive-based vessel speed reduction program known as Protecting Blue Whales and Blue Skies (www.bluewhalesblueskies.org).

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