Environment

Captains of big ships eased up on the throttle during trial slowdown to help endangered orcas

By Tom Banse
Many captains of large commercial vessels agreed to slow down in a stretch of northern Puget Sound shipping lanes where endangered orcas are frequently seen in the fall.
The majority of captains of big commercial ships entering and leaving Puget Sound are cooperating with a request to slow down temporarily to reduce underwater noise impacts to the Pacific Northwest's critically endangered killer whales. The duration of the experimental slowdown – modeled on a similar project in British Columbia – will be extended into the new year, Read More

Reducing collisions between ships and whales? There’s apps for that, but they need work

By Tom Banse
A way to prevent large ships from striking and killing whales is to transmit alerts to the officers at the helm when whales are nearby.
Fortunately, it doesn't happen very often in the Pacific Northwest that ships collide with whales. But when it does, it's upsetting, tragic and the whale probably dies. Three separate teams have developed smartphone-based systems that can alert commercial mariners to watch out, slow down or change course when whales have been sighted nearby. A recent ride-along on a big Read More
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