The governing context for addressing ship strikes to endangered whales is a complex web of state and federal jurisdictions, so OST’s Legislative Science Services team examined existing research, science, and policy considerations associated with whale strikes by vessels through conversations with experts in the field. The result of these conversations and research is a science and policy report titled “Whale Vulnerability to Ship Strikes Along the California Coast.”
The report provides a science-informed overview of recent and potential actions to reduce whale mortality due to ship strikes off the California coast. The brief was prepared by OST in consultation with researchers, scientists, state and federal agency officials, state and congressional legislators, and nonprofit organizations.
We present three broad interventions to reduce whale strikes along the California coast. In the report, intervention options are summarized alongside policy pathways for reducing whale strikes, which emerged as potentially viable through our team’s conversations with scientists and policy experts. Each option includes a summary of relevant research, an overview, additional background, and insights from conversations with experts. The report expands particularly on vessel speed reduction as an intervention because that intervention has been more rigorously studied and associated policy options more thoroughly explored than the other two interventions presented.
OST conducted a review process with scientific and policy experts to ensure the brief is consistent with best available science and representative of the political landscape.
