Risk of collisions

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Increasing shipping traffic in the Arctic is increasingly endangering the whales' traditional migration routes.

(Bild: stock.adobe.com/Francois)

Increasing shipping traffic in the Arctic is endangering the whales' traditional migration routes, according to a report by the environmental organization WWF. In spring and fall, tens of thousands of whales migrate along the so-called "blue corridors" to their summer and winter habitats.

The WWF has now mapped the migratory movements of Arctic marine mammals for the first time for a new report and compared them with ship routes in the region. "Arctic whales and ships often use the same routes, as the new maps clearly show. This is dangerous for the whales, the underwater noise affects them and the risk of ship collisions is high," says Heike Zidowitz from WWF Germany.

37 percent more ships in the Arctic
From 2013 to 2023, the number of ships in Arctic waters increased by 37 percent and the distance traveled doubled. According to the report, climate change is increasing the pressure on Arctic whales even further. The Arctic is warming up to four times faster than the rest of the planet.

The WWF called on the shipping industry to take whale corridors into account when planning routes. Where routes overlap inseparably, the speed of travel must be reduced. "Narwhals, belugas and bowhead whales have adapted perfectly to the icy waters and are not at home anywhere else on the planet," says WWF expert Zidowitz. "But whales know no borders, and their migration routes extend across several national and international waters, which is why coordinated cooperation is needed to protect them."

Whaling commission meets in Peru
Around 400 delegates from 88 countries are currently discussing the protection of marine mammals at the 69th conference of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in Lima (Peru). At the center of the debate are resolutions to strengthen the global ban on whaling, the contribution of whaling to food security and a proposal for a protected area for whales in the South Atlantic.