Vessel Strike of Whales in Australia: The Challenges of Analysis of Historical Incident Data

Death or injury to whales from vessel strike is one of the primary threats to whale populations worldwide. However, quantifying the rate of occurrence of these collisions is difficult because many incidents are not detected (particularly from large vessels) and therefore go unreported. Furthermore,...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: David Peel, Joshua N. Smith, Simon Childerhouse
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2018-03-01
Series:Frontiers in Marine Science
Subjects:
Online Access:http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmars.2018.00069/full
_version_ 1818153762072559616
author David Peel
Joshua N. Smith
Simon Childerhouse
author_facet David Peel
Joshua N. Smith
Simon Childerhouse
author_sort David Peel
collection DOAJ
description Death or injury to whales from vessel strike is one of the primary threats to whale populations worldwide. However, quantifying the rate of occurrence of these collisions is difficult because many incidents are not detected (particularly from large vessels) and therefore go unreported. Furthermore, varying reporting biases occur related to species identification, spatial coverage of reports and type of vessels involved. The International Whaling Commission (IWC) has compiled a database of the worldwide occurrence of vessel strikes to cetaceans, within which Australia constitutes ~7% (35 reports) of the reported worldwide (~471 reports) vessel strike records involving large whales. Worldwide records consist largely of modern reports within the last two decades and historical evaluation of ship strike reports has mainly focused on the Northern Hemisphere. To address this we conducted a search of historical national and international print media archive databases to discover reports of vessel strikes globally, although with a focus on Australian waters. A significant number of previously unrecorded reports of vessel strikes were found for both Australia (76) and worldwide (140), resulting in a revised estimate of ~15% of global vessel strikes occurring in Australian waters. This detailed collation and analysis of vessel strike data in an Australian context has contributed to our knowledge of the worldwide occurrence of vessel strikes and challenges the notion that vessel strikes were historically rare in Australia relative to the rest of the world. The work highlights the need to examine historical records to provide context around current anthropogenic threats to marine fauna and demonstrates the importance of formalized reporting structures for effective collation of vessel strike reports. This paper examines the issues and biases in analysis of vessel strike data in general that would apply to any jurisdiction. Using the Australian data as an example we look at what information can be inferred from historical data and the dangers of inference without consideration of the reporting biases.
first_indexed 2024-12-11T14:15:46Z
format Article
id doaj.art-629e8598a7c048519ec2c97e13e38900
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2296-7745
language English
last_indexed 2024-12-11T14:15:46Z
publishDate 2018-03-01
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
record_format Article
series Frontiers in Marine Science
spelling doaj.art-629e8598a7c048519ec2c97e13e389002022-12-22T01:03:10ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Marine Science2296-77452018-03-01510.3389/fmars.2018.00069330764Vessel Strike of Whales in Australia: The Challenges of Analysis of Historical Incident DataDavid Peel0Joshua N. Smith1Simon Childerhouse2Data61, CSIRO, Hobart, TAS, AustraliaCetacean Research Unit, Murdoch University, Perth, WA, AustraliaBlue Planet Marine, Nelson, New ZealandDeath or injury to whales from vessel strike is one of the primary threats to whale populations worldwide. However, quantifying the rate of occurrence of these collisions is difficult because many incidents are not detected (particularly from large vessels) and therefore go unreported. Furthermore, varying reporting biases occur related to species identification, spatial coverage of reports and type of vessels involved. The International Whaling Commission (IWC) has compiled a database of the worldwide occurrence of vessel strikes to cetaceans, within which Australia constitutes ~7% (35 reports) of the reported worldwide (~471 reports) vessel strike records involving large whales. Worldwide records consist largely of modern reports within the last two decades and historical evaluation of ship strike reports has mainly focused on the Northern Hemisphere. To address this we conducted a search of historical national and international print media archive databases to discover reports of vessel strikes globally, although with a focus on Australian waters. A significant number of previously unrecorded reports of vessel strikes were found for both Australia (76) and worldwide (140), resulting in a revised estimate of ~15% of global vessel strikes occurring in Australian waters. This detailed collation and analysis of vessel strike data in an Australian context has contributed to our knowledge of the worldwide occurrence of vessel strikes and challenges the notion that vessel strikes were historically rare in Australia relative to the rest of the world. The work highlights the need to examine historical records to provide context around current anthropogenic threats to marine fauna and demonstrates the importance of formalized reporting structures for effective collation of vessel strike reports. This paper examines the issues and biases in analysis of vessel strike data in general that would apply to any jurisdiction. Using the Australian data as an example we look at what information can be inferred from historical data and the dangers of inference without consideration of the reporting biases.http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmars.2018.00069/fullvessel strikevessel collisionscetaceanshippinghistorical datawhale
spellingShingle David Peel
Joshua N. Smith
Simon Childerhouse
Vessel Strike of Whales in Australia: The Challenges of Analysis of Historical Incident Data
Frontiers in Marine Science
vessel strike
vessel collisions
cetacean
shipping
historical data
whale
title Vessel Strike of Whales in Australia: The Challenges of Analysis of Historical Incident Data
title_full Vessel Strike of Whales in Australia: The Challenges of Analysis of Historical Incident Data
title_fullStr Vessel Strike of Whales in Australia: The Challenges of Analysis of Historical Incident Data
title_full_unstemmed Vessel Strike of Whales in Australia: The Challenges of Analysis of Historical Incident Data
title_short Vessel Strike of Whales in Australia: The Challenges of Analysis of Historical Incident Data
title_sort vessel strike of whales in australia the challenges of analysis of historical incident data
topic vessel strike
vessel collisions
cetacean
shipping
historical data
whale
url http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmars.2018.00069/full
work_keys_str_mv AT davidpeel vesselstrikeofwhalesinaustraliathechallengesofanalysisofhistoricalincidentdata
AT joshuansmith vesselstrikeofwhalesinaustraliathechallengesofanalysisofhistoricalincidentdata
AT simonchilderhouse vesselstrikeofwhalesinaustraliathechallengesofanalysisofhistoricalincidentdata