‘It’s like putting a whale in a blender’: the rise of deadly ship collisions in Chile | Whales

R.It is the memory of the blue whale that flows across its small boat. Patricio Ortiz. A deep wound has distorted the giant Cetacean body – a large piece of its dorsal fin. Shipping ships say the only opponent capable of causing this damage to the blue whale.

“Nothing can be done when they are against those floating monsters.”

Ortiz Captains whale whale whale whale for researchers and small tourism groups and worked in ChañARAL De Aceituno in Chile since 1978-in the beginning Fisher. “Whales are the reason that I stayed.”

It is a place where time stands: Cove is spreading with small craftsmanship boats, and the bus comes only twice a day.

While the village retained an old magic, Ortz noticed disturbing developments in the sea. The freight corridors are increasingly crowded, and the whales pay the price.

Chile scores the highest death rate in the world caused by the ship. A study published in the Marine Policy magazine found this year that during the past decade The average Chile reached five whale deaths per year Because of the ships collision. Sri Lanka and the American West Coast follow between three and four people annually, based on the death of dead beach whales.

The researchers estimate that these numbers are the top of the iceberg, which represents about 10 % of the total deaths. Most of the whales that were struck or floated in the sea are drowned, and the bodies that wash on the beach are often discovered.

“Frederick Toro, a veterinarian at the University of Santo Thomas and the author of the study, says the numbers only explain the bodies that we find on the coast.

Toro, who runs the tendons, says that the signs of collision say: “We have once identified a giant giant hematoma [blood clot] In the heart of a blue whale. This means that something hit him with a lot of strength. “

Chile water They are at home To 40 % of whales in the world, including species at risk such as Blue Whaleand Say whale and Smalfa whale The marine policy paper determines the geographical relationship between the scenes of the dead whale and the saturated shipping corridors.

“These areas are large axes of marine traffic associated with mining, fishing, transportation, and salmon transport,” says Suzana Bokan, an ocean designer at the University of Konipsion and a co -author of the paper.

It confirms that there are “hot beating points” in “almost every region” from Chile, from heavy copper mining areas in Antofagasta in the north to the very southern end of the country in Magalanes, which is inhabited by industrial salmon fisheries.

IN ChañARAL De Aceituno, the Buchaan team puts marks on whales to collect a comprehensive data set and hopes that the government policy on reducing strikes will direct. The fin, the second largest species, has the largest number of registered deaths.

Bokan and her team take a boat 10 minutes away from the open sea, kill the engine, float silently, and listen to strikes and spots. It is the oldest way to track whales in the book, however, it insists, the most effective. Once the animal is discovered, the boat is drawn next to it, and it never crosses its way.

The race with the whale at speeds up to 45 mph (72 km/h), buchan backed the mark – it only has seconds to apply. When the animal finally jumps, it jumps strongly towards the edge of the boat, ensuring that the brand’s suction pads are stuck firmly.

If it succeeds, the mark will remain on the whale’s body for up to 30 hours, monitor the depth of diving, to what extent under the surface that feeds the whale, and for how long.

This information helps the team at the expense of the average possibility of collision. “The higher the number of the whale in the depths of 0-20 meters, the higher the possibility is a strike,” says Bakan.

The signs also record the amount of communication between the whales. On average, 60 % of the tagged fins are not involved. “This is appropriate because mining companies offer sound buoys [floating devices used to record and transmit underwater sound] “As a solution to the problem of the ship’s strike,” says Bonakan.

In Chile, it is common for private companies to build custom ports instead of sharing a central center. This is largely due to the mining companies operating in remote areas without the current infrastructure.

However, this has led to the proliferation of the summarized ports that lacks the coherent environmental organization. Chile has 56 outletsOnly 10 of them are state -owned.

“Chile lives out of mining, this is a reality. But what appears to be a lack of vision and planning is that every mining project has its own port.” “There is no big picture.”

Private companies have always surrounded ChañARAL De Aceituno by private companies, although they are a protected naval and a shelter of species, including whales, birds and foxes.

One project aims to work in the region is Dominga, a mining process of $ 2.5 billion (1.9 billion pounds), which was He refused in January for the third time On environmental interests. Andes Iron, the company behind the project, pledged to appeal against the decision.

“You will not put a huge fast road next to an area full of schools, right?” Bokan, who is concerned that the quiet water around ChañAral De Aceituno can turn into the next hot point of whale strikes.

While academics and environmental activists oppose the new port projects, they also shed light on the need for larger regulations, including the limits of speed, to implement them in the existing hot points.

A blow from a cargo ship traveling with more than 18 knots [21mph]”Put a whale in a mixer.”

Chile is one of the most important fisheries of fish and aquatic biology that its goal is to “reduce and reduce” ships collision, but also confirms that local governments bear the responsibility to consider measures such as the restrictions of the speed of the bowl and adjust the charging methods in critical habitats.

Meanwhile, again in ChañARAL De Aceituno, Ortiz looks at the small hunting boats scattered along the sleeping bay. He saw the goods ships pass by on 24-30 knots on the open sea, and worried that the problem of the strike would get worse.

“In this place, you can see the largest whales in the world to the smallest, just 10 minutes from the coastal line,” he says. “It is a diamond in the coarse. What we have, we have to take care of it.”