Changes to maritime shipping lanes off the coast of
California have been approved by the International Maritime Organization in an
effort to better protect endangered whales from ships.
The vessel lane changes, which are expected to go into
effect later in 2013, affect busy shipping lanes to San Francisco Bay, the Los
Angeles-Long Beach port complex and the Santa Barbara Channel, which include
routes that cross three national marine sanctuaries.
Extending the three lanes in the approach to San Francisco
Bay is expected to reduce interactions between ships and whales within Cordell
Bank and Gulf of the Farallones national marine sanctuaries.
According to the IMO, the lane extensions should improve
maritime safety in the area by keeping vessels on a dedicated route through
prime fishing grounds, which will reduce interaction between fishing vessels
and commercial ships.
The vessel lane changes in the Santa Barbara Channel and
Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary narrow the overall width of the
existing lanes and shift the southbound lane one nautical mile north. This
change will move vessels away from an area used by feeding blue and humpback
whales.
Blue, humpback and fin whales are protected by the
Endangered Species Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act and National Marine
Sanctuaries Act.
In 2010, five whales – two blue, one humpback and two fin –
were killed by confirmed or likely ship strikes in the San Francisco area and
elsewhere along the north-central California coast. In 2007, four blue whales
were killed by confirmed or likely ship strikes in and around the Santa Barbara
Channel.
The lane changes were crafted in part by the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and US Coast Guard.
“The modifications to the traffic lanes balance the safe and
efficient flow of commerce within and between our nation’s ports with NOAA’s
goal of reducing whale strikes from vessels,” USCG Rear Admiral Karl Schultz,
the Eleventh Coast Guard district commander, said.
