Industry under scrutiny as whale death toll grows

HALIFAX — The shipping industry is under increased scrutiny after two cargo ships were fined for sailing too fast through the Gulf of St. Lawrence, where the rising death toll among endangered North Atlantic right whales has been partly blamed on collisions with vessels.

There have been eight deaths reported since early June, and examinations of five of the carcasses showed three of them had injuries consistent with ship strikes — a leading cause of death for these rare mammals.

“While the shipping industry has been overwhelmingly compliant in respecting these (speed limits), there are still some exceptions, and Transport Canada is examining all reported cases of non-compliance,” the department said in a statement Friday.

Sonia Simard, a spokeswoman for the Shipping Federation of Canada, stressed the industry’s level of compliance has been impressive, given the number of vessels that move through the gulf.

“It is our understanding that the compliance rate is over 98 per cent for 2019 and was equally high in 2018,” Simard, the federation’s director of legislative and environmental affairs, said in an email.

Of the more than 2,200 large vessels that transited the gulf ’s shipping corridors between April 28 and July 25, the Canadian Coast Guard found 227 vessels had exceeded the reduced 10knot speed limit — but after investigation three quarters of these cases were closed without fines.

Simard said many of the vessels flagged by an automated tracking system had exceeded the limit by only 0.5 knots or less.

However, another 48 cases are under review.

“We know how important it is,” Simard said in an interview. “We are dedicated to the best management measures.”

Chad Allen, the federation’s director of marine operations, said it’s important to understand how difficult it is for the crews of large ships to spot whales.

Typically, larger commercial vessels have an officer of the watch and a lookout posted on the bridge. Though they usually enjoy a commanding view of the seas, it can be easy to miss right whales when they break the surface.

“The right whale doesn’t present a big profile,” he said. “It doesn’t have a big dorsal fin.”

As well, when the whales surface to breath, the spray from their blowholes is often indistinguishable from breaking waves when the winds exceed 15 kilometres an hour — a common occurrence on the gulf.

“As the wind picks up, when they do spray, that spray gets dissipated very quickly,” said Allen.

The federation represents 70 shipping businesses in Canada, which include ship owners, operators and marine agents.

Boris Worm, a biology professor and well-known whale expert at Dalhousie University in Halifax, said marine mammal experts are aware of the challenges faced by the shipping industry.

“Even in good conditions, when it’s easier to see the whales, it’s hard to judge which way the whale is moving,” he said. “It becomes hard to guess which way to turn.”

David Browne, director of conservation with the Canadian Wildlife Federation, said it may be time to start talking about moving the shipping lanes in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

“It’s a massive undertaking,” he said.

“You have to convince all of the countries of the world.”