According to a report by the environmental organization WWF, increasing shipping traffic in the Arctic is endangering the whales’ traditional migration routes. In spring and autumn, tens of thousands of whales migrate along so-called “blue corridors” to their summer and winter quarters. For a new report, the WWF has now mapped the migration movements of the Arctic marine mammals for the first time and compared them with shipping routes in the region.
“Arctic whales and ships often use the same routes, as the new maps clearly show. This is dangerous for the whales, the underwater noise is damaging them and the risk of ship collisions is high,” says Heike Zidowitz of WWF Germany. From 2013 to 2023, the number of ships in Arctic waters increased by 37 percent, and the distance traveled doubled. Climate change is increasing the pressure on Arctic whales even further, the report said. The Arctic is warming up to four times faster than the rest of the planet.
WWF: Driving speed must be reduced
The WWF called on the shipping industry to take the whales’ corridors into account when planning their routes. Where the routes inextricably overlap, the speed of travel must be reduced. “Narwhals, belugas and bowhead whales have adapted perfectly to the icy waters and are not native to anywhere else on the planet,” says WWF expert Zidowitz. “But whales know no borders, and their migration routes extend across several national and international waters, so coordinated cooperation is needed to protect them.”
Around 400 delegates from 88 countries are currently discussing the protection of marine mammals at the 69th Conference of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in Lima. The debate will focus on resolutions to strengthen the global ban on whaling, the contribution of whaling to food security and a proposal for a sanctuary for whales in the South Atlantic.
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