Scientists are calling for a shipping lane off Sri Lanka to be moved by a few miles to save a resident population of blue whales, saying it would reduce the number of collisions with the endangered mammals by as much as 95 per cent.
The population of pygmy blue whales – one of the four known species of blue whales – was only identified this century and scientists were amazed that the whales are thought to be resident off the southern tip of Sri Lanka rather than migratory. However, their habitat overlaps what is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world which connects Southeast Asia and China with the Suez Channel. Traffic in the shipping lane has grown by more than 300 per cent in the past 20 years.
Researchers supported by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), Great Whale Conservancy and OceanCare believe that moving the shipping lane just 15 nautical miles would stop hundreds of often fatal collisions between oil tankers and vast container ships and the whales, which though described as pygmy, still grow to more than 20 metres in length.
Sharon Livermore of IFAW said: ‘This tiny little shift in the location of the shipping lane would make a huge difference to the conservation status of these whales.’
There is no data on how many whales live in the area or how many have been killed by ships. However, in recent years several carcasses have turned up bearing signs of collision.
‘The risk is so high that we know that there must be many more being killed than are being reported,’ said Livermore. ‘The blue whale might be the largest animal on the planet – these ones are about 22 metres long – but they pale in significance against a 300-metre cargo ship.’
The scientists have written to the Sri Lankan government calling on it to ask the International Maritime Organisation to move the lane.
• Read our full report on the blue whales of Sri Lanka and the boom in tourists coming to swim with them and see more stunning photographs by Douglas David Seifert
