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All ships in my region now have to slow down compared to just a year or two ago. In recent years right whales have migrated into the gulf of St. Lawrence. Ships
by dghughes 7y ago
All ships in my region now have to slow down compared to just a year or two ago. In recent years right whales have migrated into the gulf of St. Lawrence. Ships were plowing into a whale each week it seemed.
When the order was given to slow down many cruise ships opted to just not come here. But now it seems they understand the problem and follow the rules.
It's become so bad recently that even a Coast Guard ship hit a right whale.
- BurningFrog 7y agoAs whales come back to their natural population levels - from memory 100 or 1000 times today! - this will become a big problem.
- MuffinFlavored 7y agoWhy doesn't the theory of evolution work here? "The whales who get out of the way of ships will evolve forward"
- Taylor_OD 7y agoEvolution is really really really slow. Ships are not.
- BurningFrog 7y agoI'm sure it does. Whales evolve slowly though, since they can live for centuries. Then again they're fairly smart, so they might figure out strategies. I expect we'll also make ships easier for them to spot.
- rpmisms 7y agoWhales are also intelligent enough to learn that ships might be harmful, but it will still take time. ~70 years is nothing on an evolutionary scale
- beerandt 7y agoWhales are intelligent and social. The problem is the oldest whales are getting to be too young to remember whaling, so they're no longer scared of ships, as a society. Sightseeing expeditions encouraging whales to approach boats doesn't help either.