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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 1026.001 2004-2006 Description of DVD video "Fill the Hawaii Superferry Kill Humpback Whales'?" Produced by Dr. Lee T'epiey $10 charge for burning, paclau . rnailiu . e-mail leetebley ff ear°thI . net A compressed vcrsi u ct;N above v d to i now av dlable -TA lrttpe/fwcl~.:~ ~~Yeonnr"l~t~ ~1~>yfiw~? This DVD video is now available in both a 27 minute and a 13 minute version. It investigates the potential negative effete of the coming Hawaii Superferry on Humpback. whales in Hawaiian waters. It has been recently reported that similar fast ferries have been ' i sperm whales in the waters of the Canary Islands. The video was was produced as a public service and is non-profit and non-commercial. It can be reproduced at no charge. The purpose of the video is to point out that the Hawaii Superferry will l far more of a threat to whales then is generally realm and that responsible government officials should take a very close look at it before permitting it to go into operation as proposed in "he ale Avoidance Policy and Procedures'" published by the Hawaii Superferry Company. Specifically, the Hawaii Su}rferry will be a threat to mother and baby Humpback. whales because it's two Pontoons extend down to at least 14 feet. As shown in the video - mother and baby whales spend a great deal of time swimming just below the surface and, although baby whales come up to breathe frequently, their blows are very small and bard to see in rough seas - even with hip powered binoculars. It is estimated that about 400 mother and baby whales currently winter in Hawaiian water's. The video points out that the use of radar and other technologies discussed in the "Whale Avoidance Policy" will be only marginally effective because they cannot detect whales beneath the surface. The video emphasizes that only sonar can "6see" underwater and sonar will not be used on the Superferry because - at the speed the ferry will travel - the best available sonar will only detect whales at a distance if it's intensity is high enough to potentially injure the whales - and in any case, it would expose whales to levels that exceed NMFS Class B harassment levels --so it's use by the Superferry is not permitted by the Marine Mammal Protection Act. However, it suns that many government officials involved with the Superferry are either unaware of - or unconcerned about the fact that sonar will not be used &n the lwaii Superferr~. ' Ref. To:e~ Ref. Date OCT 1 7 2 06 The video points out that the main problem with the Superferry is it's high speed. It can do almost 43 miles/hour which means it can cover over 2 football fields in 10 seconds - so if a whale is spotted, the Pilot will have very little time to react - and the whale can be hit by either of it's two bows. The Superferry Company has agreed to slow down to 25 knots in areas where whales are most common - but at this speed it would still cover almost 11/2 football fields in 10 seconds. The "Whale Avoidance Policy" implies that Cruise ships could be more of a problem to whales than the Superferry because of the large area of water that Cruise ships sweep out - and since Cruise ships are not known to have hit whales in Hawaiian waters, the Whale Avoidance Policy implies that the Superferry should cause few problems to whales. However, the video includes an analysis that demonstrates that this implication is incorrect and that the Superferry is a far greater threat to whales than any Cruise ship. The video also points out that whales killed by the Superferry may often not be detected because they may be eaten by sharks or sink to the ocean bottom. Finally, the video includes new information that high speed ferries - similar to the Hawa i Superferry - have recently killed many Sperm whales in the Canary Islands. Both Sperm whales and mother and baby Humpback whales spend much time at or near the surface. However, many dead Sperm whales have drifted ashore in the Canary islands - probably because they were killed close to shore. This may or may not turn out to be the case in Hawaiian waters.. However, there seems to be no reason that Hawaii's Humpbacks will fare any better from the Superferry than the Sperm whales that have been killed by high speed ferries in the waters of the Canary Islands. 4 r. I t r ~f Ow. F a 1 4 k F x S~T x.." s pia y' 3 A J y ~y3 t~ 5 F r ~p+ y a ~ 4r~' ak P P J °"1 M ab n .Ow • N vt 0" %woo 11W --"ic ~ e• - Mt{ i r µ s5 t 1 Yn'~ lA ~ A~Y ~ by ~ y KK x~}„ fM 1 z:. OTI ~ t e' w Y• S i W . s1 IVA 3 ~ # w I x. 3 v, k `941WC i~ T J ~ ~ ~¦I • "p ~r fin/ F iure 5 Cetaceans killed before and after 1999 in the Canary Islands Ratio of Total No. No. of Cetaceans cetaceans Paper no. Time Interval of killed/year killed /year Cetaceans before and killed after fast ferries #1. 1985 - 1s, half 7 0.48 pre-1999 Submitted to 1999 IWC. Later =14.5 years 8.3 Provided to SAC 2nd half 1999 - 14 4.0 post-1999 2002 =3.5 ears #2. 1985 - 1998 7 0.50 pre- Found online. = 14 years No other 8.6 information 1999 thru 30 4.29 post-1999 available 2005 =7.0 ears #3 1980 thru 1 n half 1999 8 0.41 pre-1999 Abstract = 19.5 years 12.85 only 2nd half 29 5.27 post-1999 1999 thru 2004 = 5.5 ears Paper #1 is reprinted in its entirety at btt: /web.mac.com/leetepjgy iweb Paper #2 was found on the web and is referred to at the above web site. Paper #3 is an abstract of a paper presented at a meeting of the European Cetacean Society in duly of 2006. The abstract is printed at the above web site. ,xy f i w. r4 S ~•s W '4r~ Figure 7 ELSV Marioe Poboioa eo~die 5212W) 1287-12" wtirr.eheviertomllocatelmarpo46Mediterranean fin whales at risk from fatal ship strikes Simone Panigada a.b.,. Giovanna Pesante', Margherita Zanardelh Fr6deric Capoulade Alexandre Gannier d. Mason T. Weinrich ` S. PuriW& er al 1 Afrw w Pollutim At&tm .s2 l2rMMt 1287-I2" s r r r r° $ ar sw .r str 4r ar al , t! r r r r r +0' tr° tr Borders of the Polagos Samtuary for Manor Maammh_ The kxmm of the area a, the W&Ia amn Sea is asmn in Excerpt from above paper published in 2006 "High-speed ferries were introduced into the area In 1996. In the six years following that period they accounted for almost 500/6 of the total collisions (n=7; three caused by highm speed ferries, Three by traditional ferries, and one by a merchant ship."