Workshop Report on Management Needs to Minimize Vessel Collisions with Whales in the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary and other National Marine Sanctuaries

摘要

To address a growing concern regarding the increased occurrence of collisions between vessels and humpback whales the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary (HIHWNMS) Advisory Council Vessel Strike Working Group and its partners sponsored a workshop to assess ship strike risks to whales in Hawaii and to identify possible actions to reduce the occurrence of vessel/whale collisions in Hawaiian waters and throughout the National Marine Sanctuary (NMS) System. The Working Group's aim is to stay ahead of the issue of vessel and whale collision in view of such a dynamic environment. Primary goals of the meeting were: To review available information on the risks of vessels hitting whales and factor affecting the magnitude of those risks$ to identify possible measures to reduce the risk of vessel collisions with whales for different vessel classes$ review existing regulations and assess effectiveness of enforcement policy relating to vessel-whale encounters and collisions in sanctuary waters$ prepare a summary report with preliminary recommendations for the Chair of NOAA's Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale NMS Advisory Council Vessel Strike Working Group on (1) whether the issues of vessel collisions with marine mammals in national marine sanctuaries warrants specific attention of NMS Program and (2) if so, determine the research, management, and regulatory actions that should be taken in national marine sanctuaries, in collaboration with other state, Federal and tribal agencies with management authority over marine mammals.