Shifting the Boston Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS)
The
Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary and surrounding waters
showing (a) the distribution and relative density of all baleen
whales in the sanctuary, (b) the location of right whale sightings
and (c) the current and proposed Traffic Separation Schemes through
the sanctuary. Data consist of over 350,000 sightings over a 24
year period.
Science Applied to Sanctuary Management
Management
Issue:
Rerouting Commercial Vessel Traffic to Reduce the
Risk of Shipstrikes to Whales
The Stellwagen Bank NMS has been working to mitigate the risk of
shipstrikes to endangered whales. The sanctuary is a critical seasonal
feeding area for right, humpback, fin, and minke whales. It is also
the area in which large commercial ships converge to enter the Port
of Boston.
Over 200 large commercial ships ply the waters of the Stellwagen
Bank NMS every month. For vessels using the traffic separation scheme,
rotating the scheme 12 degrees to the north may reduce risk of shipstrikes
to endangered right whales by 58% and to all baleen whales by 81%.
Information
Needs
- Long-term
distribution of baleen whale sightings
- Habitat
characterization
- Whale
feeding ecology
- Characterization
of large commercial vessel use of SBNMS
- Requirements
for proposal to International Maritime Organization
Scientific
Approach and Actions
- Risk
analysis of shipstrike to whales using maps of whale sightings,
habitats, human uses and information on whale feeding ecology
Key
Partners and Information Sources
NOAA Office of Protected Resources, NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science
Center, NOAA General Counsel for International Law, Right Whale
Consortium, Massachusetts Port Authority, Shipping Industry
Scientific
Results
·
An analysis of shipstrikes along the East Coast
from 1979-2002 indicates that Massachusetts
Bay including the Stellwagen Bank NMS is a hotspot
for shipstrikes.
·
The sanctuary is heavily used by large cargo
vessels and by whales year around.
·
A 23-year database of whale sightings reveal
the existence of three areas of high whale density and that the
current TSS bisects one of them.
·
For
vessels using the traffic separation scheme, rotating the scheme
12 degrees to the north may reduce risk of shipstrikes to endangered
right whales by 58% and to all baleen whales by 81%.
·
Vessel transit times would be increased by
between 9 – 22 minutes
Management
Response
The National Marine Sanctuary Program, NOAA Office
of Protected Resources, and the General Counsel for International
Law have agreed to jointly propose to IMO to shift the current
TSS 12 degrees to the north so that ships pass between two areas
that have historically shown high densities of whales.
Information
from Emergency Response Action Plan
FGBNMS Management Plan. For more information:
http://sanctuaries.nos.noaa.gov/management/mpr/welcome.html
(979) 846-5942
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