Mitigating vessel strikes: The problem of the peripatetic whales and the peripatetic fleet

Abstract

A survey questionnaire designed to determine mariner knowledge and awareness of endangered whales, existing conservation measures, and mariner receptivity to near real-time conservation technology on the bridge is herein reported. The survey, distributed by the Shipping Federation of Canada, yielded 43 responses. The majority of respondents were interested in receiving information on endangered whales and conservation measures in eastern Canada and USA Gulf of Maine regions (72% and 79%, respectively). Eighty-four percent of respondents indicated a preference for receiving whale alerts via Navigational telex (NAVTEX) and 79% listed NAVTEX as the most “not disruptive” means of receiving the alerts. A similar 72% also listed Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) as “not disruptive”, and 58% identified AIS as the preferred reception format. The results show that the commercial fleet is moderately receptive to near real-time whale alerts on the bridge. It is concluded that to better understand mariner willingness to participate in whale conservation, researchers should consider defining the response required of mariners when receiving such alerts. The results also suggest that future conservation programs should use communication formats that are most familiar to, and favoured by, mariners while being the least disruptive to bridge protocols; i.e., NAVTEX and AIS.