Spain, France, Italy and Monaco plan to submit a report to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) at the end of June. Proposal to declare the Northwest Mediterranean region a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA). It will be an area that will include the marine protected area surrounding Corsica and the cetacean corridor of the Spanish Levant and intermediate areas that currently do not have an equivalent conservation figure.
Given the presentation of this proposal, the international marine protection organization OceanCare presented arguments asking these governments to limit the speed of all ships based on scientific evidence. in this important habitat for large whales.
Fin and sperm whale subpopulations in the Mediterranean are classified as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List and have recently been estimated to be fin whale population is only about 1,800 mature animalshalf of what was previously estimated by scientists.
Collisions with boats, main cause of death
Ship strikes are the leading cause of human-caused deaths for fin and sperm whales in the northwestern Mediterranean. Heavy maritime traffic suffered by this area.
The movement of ships in this region is 220,000 per year, with average speed between 14 and 20 knots for merchant ships and even up to 35 knots for high speed ships. Ocean Care notes that these collisions have contributed significantly to the continued decline in the abundance of individuals of these two species, and there is a risk of disappearing from the area.
“The areas in this part of the Mediterranean where these large whales are found at any given time are unpredictable, so the option to change the course of the ships is not possible. Therefore, to effectively prevent deadly collisions between ships and these marine mammals, only one possible option remains: reduce the speed of the ships,” he said.
“Spain, France, Italy and Monaco have taken a very positive step by agreeing to work together to create a PSSA in the northwest Mediterranean, but this conservation figure risks becoming just a ‘paper park’”, OceanCare Spain representative Carlos Bravo explained.
“Effectively protecting large whales can only be possible by taking a mandatory measure to reduce the speed of ships. while creating a framework of equal conditions for all shipping companies,” Bravo added.
According to him, the protection measures contained in the current draft of the official proposal for the determination of the Northwest Mediterranean PSSA “will not serve to effectively protect cetaceans from the risk of collision with ships sailing in the area in question. only advice to sailors such as to navigate with special care When and where large and medium sized cetaceans are present in the PSSA (in such cases, they can increase their speed to maximum [13 nudos])”.
The conservation agency believes that this recommendation from the countries concerned does not take into account experience and scientific evidence of what are truly effective measures to reduce marine mammal mortality due to collisions with ships. Based on consolidated scientific data, PSSA recommendation for the Northwest Mediterranean must include a mandatory speed reduction measure up to a maximum of 10 knotsapplies to all ships”, says Bravo.
In addition, reducing the speed will provide fuel savings for the maritime sector and therefore, It will reduce CO2 emissions and atmospheric pollutants as well as underwater noise, so the measure will result in multiple environmental benefits.
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