*NEWS*SHIPPING LANE SHIFTED TO SAVE WHALE

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Shipping Lane Shift to Save Rare Whales
BOSTON  – The busy shipping lanes in and out of Boston Harbor will be narrowed and shifted northward Sunday in a bid to lower the risk of rare right whales being killed by ships.It’s the first time in U.S. history shipping lanes have been changed to protect wildlife.Each year, ships from around the world, carrying everything from cars to natural gas, make about 3,500 trips through the designated lanes stretching from southeast of Cape Cod into the port of Boston.On Sunday, the final stretch of that corridor will be given a slight northeast rotation. Researchers say that will take ships outside an area with a high concentration of North Atlantic right whales and reduces the ship strike risk by more than 50 percenkeep them from entering.Ship strikes and marine gear entanglements are the top human causes of right whale deaths. Twenty-eight deaths blamed on ship strikes have been documented since 1972, including eight since 2004.

North Atlantic right whales spend the winter in warm water to the south and migrate to the Gulf of Maine each spring before returning south in the fall.The shipping lanes have run through the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, a vital habitat for whales and other marine life. An analysis of 25 years of data of right whale sightings showed the lanes crossed an area with dense congregations of the animals, likely because that’s where their food is, Merrick said.

The analysis also showed far fewer whales in an area just north of the lanes.The narrower lanes were approved by the Coast Guard and the International Maritime Organization, and navigators will adjust to them, said Andy Hammond, executive director of the Boston Pilots Association. But he said any loss of space is important because it reduces the mobility of often massive ships in bad weather and various unforeseen circumstances.”You don’t want to get into a situation that you can’t maneuver your way out of, and to maneuver a large ship is not the same as putting on the brakes on a car or truck,” he said.Meyer said the lanes shift is much less controversial than a proposal still under federal review to reduce the speed limit to 10 knots in areas where whales are active. Shippers aren’t convinced slowing down will make a difference for the whales, but the benefits of shifting the lanes away from them is clearer, he said.Hammond said the lane shift is worth a try because of its possible benefits for the whales.”As long as a balance is struck between navigational safety and keeping that safety level high, tnd 10 to 22 minutes to each one-way trip.Lost minutes can be important because Boston harbor is too shallow for ships to move in and out when the tide is low, said Richard Meyer, executive director of the Boston Shipping Association, which represents shipping companies and port employers. That could force shippers leave the harbor prematurely or keep them from entering.Ship strikes and marine gear entanglements are the top human causes of right whale deaths. Twenty-eight deaths blamed on ship strikes have been documented since 1972, including eight since 2004.North Atlantic right whales spend the winter in warm water to the south and migrate to the Gulf of Maine each spring before returning south in the fall.The shipping lanes have run through the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, a vital habitat for whales and other marine life. An analysis of 25 years of data of right whale sightings showed the lanes crossed an area with dense congregations of the animals, likely because that’s where their food is, Merrick said.

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July 10, 2007 at 12:12 PM