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Throttle Back and We’ll Make it Worth Your While
Topic Started: 8 Aug 2014, 11:18 PM (48 Views)
skibboy
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Throttle Back and We’ll Make it Worth Your While

BY REUTERS ON AUGUST 8, 2014

Posted Image
Blue whale, image (c) Shutterstock/Richard Fitzer

By Dana Feldman

Posted Image LOS ANGELES, Aug 7 (Reuters) – The massive container ships passing through the Santa Barbara Channel off the coast of Southern California will be paid a bonus of $2,500 per trip to slow down, in an effort to cut off-shore air pollution and reduce collisions with whales.

The four-month pilot program started in July, run by federal and local officials and an environmental group.

It comes as the season for whales in the channel peaks.

Last week, a dead fin whale washed up at the beach and harbor city of Port Hueneme, south of Santa Barbara.

“Slowing down ships is a good thing for air pollution, endangered species protection and human health,” said Kristi Birney, marine conservation analyst with the Environmental Defense Center based in Santa Barbara.

Six shipping companies have agreed to participate in the program, which is backed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District and the non-profit Environmental Defense Center, said NOAA policy analyst Sean Hastings.

The purpose is to combat exhaust emissions from the ships, which account for half of the ozone pollution in Santa Barbara County, and protect whales, often found washed up on the shore with blunt force trauma from collisions, Hastings said.

The timing coincides with the busiest whale-feeding season in the channel, and could save lives among endangered blue whales, Hastings said.

“The estimated population of blue whales in this part of the Pacific is 2,500, so every whale counts toward this population moving off the endangered species list,” Hastings said.

About 5,000 ships pass through the Santa Barbara Channel each year to the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports, a 130-mile (209-km) stretch.

Participating ships will be paid $2,500 for slowing to 12 knots during that part of the trip, from more typical speeds of 14 to 18 knots.

A similar program targets air pollution at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

A grant from the non-profit Santa Barbara Foundation provided enough money to reward 16 slower trips, Hastings said.

The $2,500 bonuses will not be enough to fully cover the lost time to shippers who slow down, said Santa Barbara Foundation community investment officer Sharyn Main, but the agencies hope the incentive will still work.

“Nobody wants to hit these fabulous animals,” said Main, adding that the program was a way to reward shippers willing to try to avoid them.

(Editing by Sharon Bernstein)

(c) 2014 Thomson Reuters, All Rights Reserved Posted Image

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skibboy
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13 August 2014

Pollution, whales prompt shipping slow-down in California

AFP

Posted Image
Container ships waiting to pick up cargo at the Los Angeles and Long Beach harbors on December 4, 2012 in Los Angeles, California

Concerns about pollution and endangered whales in southern California have prompted six global shipping companies to try slower speeds in exchange for cash incentives, environmental groups said.

The companies agreed to slow down -- from typical speeds of 14-16 knots down to 12 knots or less -- in exchange for $2,500 each time they pass through the Santa Barbara Channel.

The program was announced this month by the Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District, the Environmental Defense Center and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary.

"Reducing ship speeds to 12 knots or less reduces emissions of smog-forming air pollutants that harm our health," said Dave Van Mullem, Director, Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District.

Marine experts said the slower speeds could also save the lives of whales by cutting down on collisions that can be deadly.

Ship strikes play a role in the deaths of one to three whales per year on average, though environmentalists say more are likely killed by ships but never found.

"Slowing ships down reduces the likelihood that a ship strike on a whale will be fatal," said Chris Mobley, Superintendent for the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary.

About 2,500 container ships pass through the area each year.

The trial, announced August 4, began on July 1 and runs through October 31 "to coincide with the busiest whale season and the prime period for high levels of air pollution," the groups' statement said.

Companies involved so far include COSCO, Hapag Lloyd, K Line, Maersk Line, Matson, and United Arab Shipping Company.

It is modeled on another program under way at the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, where 90 percent of shipping lines participate.

A study last month found that blue whales off the US west coast habitually return to the same areas to feed on krill each year, and these areas tend to be heavily used as shipping lanes.

This habit could be the reason why their population is not rebounding as experts had hoped, and researchers suggested in the journal PLOS ONE that changing shipping routes could help.

The blue whale population was depleted by commercial whaling early last century but gained protection from the International Whaling Commission in 1966.

Between 10,000 and 25,000 of these endangered whales are believed to swim in the world's oceans today.

Their numbers have not increased much in recent decades.

Blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus) can live 80 to 90 years on average, and their 100-foot (30-meter) long bodies can weigh around 20 tons.

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