Collisions between Whales and Fast Ferries around Korean Waters

Kyung-Jun Song

doi:10.1155/2013/309751

Abstract

Although there is heavy maritime traffic around Korean waters, collisions between whales and fast ferries around Korean waters are nearly unknown. A ship strike that was associated with a minke whale occurred near the southeastern part of Tsushima Island along the sailing route of the fast ferry between Korea and Japan on December 16, 2004. It was associated with a fast ferry that runs at a speed of approximately 46.1 kn (83 km/h) between Korea and Japan. This individual was certainly seriously injured or killed by this ship strike because large amounts of skin of this individual were attached to the surface of the fast ferry, and also large amounts of blood of this individual spread out in that area. However, fortunately, serious damage did not occur to the mariners and passengers of the ferry, although many passengers were knocked down to the floor of the fast ferry when the fast ferry collided with the minke whale. In addition, a total of 4 records of possible collisions between whales and fast ferries have occurred on the fast ferry route between Korea and Japan between 2004 and 2007. This study is the first formal report on collisions between whales and fast ferries around Korean waters. Although the effect of ship strikes on the survival of cetaceans distributed around Korean waters is not very high at present compared with that of other threats, such as entanglement in fishing gear, ship strikes can pose a significant potential threat to endangered cetaceans such as western gray whales. Therefore, it is necessary to prepare prevention measures for ship strikes for the conservation of cetaceans around Korean waters in the future.

Highlights

Collisions between cetaceans and ships, known as ship strikes, have been continuously reported all around the world [1, 2]
A ship strike which is associated with a minke whale occurred in the southeastern part of Tsushima Island along the sailing route of a fast ferry between Korea and Japan (34∘33󸀠N, 129∘38󸀠E) on December 16, 2004 (Table 1 and Figure 1)
A cetacean that collided with this fast ferry on December 16, 2004, was identified as a minke whale through DNA analysis using a biological sample, which was attached to the surface of the ferry when the ship strike occurred, by the Cetacean Research Institute of Korea

Summary

Introduction

Collisions between cetaceans and ships, known as ship strikes, have been continuously reported all around the world [1, 2]. A comprehensive review of ship strikes with large whales throughout the world has been made for the first time [1]. According to this investigation, a total of 11 species collided with vessels throughout the world. A total of 11 species collided with vessels throughout the world Among these 11 species, several species such as fin whales, right whales, humpback whales, sperm whales, and gray whales frequently collided with vessels. They noted that ship strikes have occurred with all types of vessels based on the historical records and a computerized stranding database. On the other hand, according to some studies, a total of 292 large whale individuals collided with vessels between 1975 and 2002 [2]

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