Extinct Whale Carcass Discovered on Cruise Ship Bow in New York Port

[Cet article a initialement été publié le 10 mai 2024]

According to information from the maritime authorities and the results of the autopsy relayed by the New York Timesthe cetacean was in excellent health when he crossed the boat road.

A rorqual and a fatal collision

Although the Rorqual Boréal is known to love deep waters from the coast, according to the research group on cetaceans, it would be “often attracted”By boats.

The cetacean body of more than 22 tonnes was towed and then transferred to a beach in Sandy Hook (New Jersey), where a necropsy was carried out on Tuesday, May 7, 2024.

And according to the results, everything indicated that this Rorqual was indeed in excellent health when he unfortunately crossed the Road of the Cruise Boat, as indicated by Robert A. Digiovanni, chief scientist of the Atlantic Marine Conservation Company, in charge of the investigation, at the New York Times.

Insufficient precautions and large risk factors

However, according to a spokesperson for the company of the boat, all the precautions had been respected to avoid this type of accident, in particular the modification of certain routes to limit the risk of crossing these animals, or the training of Pont officers. “” “We will continue to assess and update our procedures with our partners and the authorities ” she said.

According to an article in the scientific interest group of mammals, (Gis 3m), collisions between cetaceans and ships are explained by:

• increased maritime traffic
• The spatial and temporal distribution of cetaceans.

Great cetaceans and Rorquals are more affected by these collisions than dolphins, more agile, therefore capable of avoiding boats more easily.

According to the GIS, all types of ships can be affected by these accidents, but the size and speed are two factors that can make the collision “more dangerous”. The North Atlantic Whale, in particular is a species threatened by this type of accident.

What solutions to avoid these collisions?

The GIS offers different solutions to prevent these unfortunate encounters between the animal and the ship:

• The modification of navigation routes
• speed limitation
• The increase in “The monitoring effort on a gateway”Which would allow you to see the animals
• installing a “real -time sharing device for cetaceans”.

According to Denis Ody, head of the Cetaceans program at WWF France, collisions are the leading cause of mortality for the common Rorqual, especially in the Mediterranean. “” “The common Rorquals are 1,500 individuals. And so, this mortality rate simply linked to collisions, it is likely to jeopardize this population of common Rorquals in the Mediterranean ”, He explained to Gross.