Santa Barbara, Calif.- In response to the Coast Guard's announcement in today's Federal Register that it is conducting a new port access route study to consider modifying existing shipping lanes through the Santa Barbara Channel into the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports, conservation organizations urged the agency to enact full protection to endangered whales, including blue, fin, humpback, and orcas, from the threat of ship strikes. These protections are sorely lacking under the current port-access system, as tragically illustrated in the fall of 2007 when at least five blue whales were struck and killed by ships within the channel. The area hosts the densest known seasonal congregation of blues on the planet.

  1- In addition to modifying the existing shipping lanes, known as traffic separation schemes, the Coast Guard has the authority to institute vessel speed limits as part of the study process.  

"The location of shipping lanes and the speeds at which ships travel are the two most obvious factors to consider in efforts to reduce the threat of ship strikes to large whales such as the blue and fin whale," stated Brian Segee, staff attorney with Environmental Defense Center. "The Coast Guard has the clear authority to address both, and we are hopeful that the agency takes this important opportunity to craft access routes that are not only safe and efficient for the shipping industry, but that provide full protection to the region's whale populations and other natural resources."

Although not mentioned in the Coast Guard's Federal Register notice, the current study was catalyzed by shipping industry efforts to avoid compliance with a recent California Air Resources Board rule requiring large oceangoing vessels to burn clean, low-sulfur fuels within 24 nautical miles of the California coast. Instead of complying with this rule - intended to reduce the rates of cancer near the two ports and throughout Southern California - more than half the ships are now traveling outside the Channel Islands, through what has been termed the "western approach." This western approach runs through the heart of the Point Mugu Sea Range, where the Navy conducts hundreds of live-fire and training exercises annually, causing an obvious, immediate national-security and public-safety issue.

"Slowing down ship traffic reduces air pollution, protects whales from ships strikes, and can even save money on fuel costs," said Andrea Treece, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity. "The Coast Guard has a terrific opportunity here to protect the health of coastal communities and the whales they love."

The Coast Guard's authority to designate traffic separation schemes is provided by the Ports and Waterways Safety Act, of which the two primary goals are "navigation and vessel safety," and "protection of the marine environment." The law mandates that the Coast Guard conduct an open public process in conducting its port access route study; it specifically directs the agency to consult with a range of stakeholders, including environmental groups.

"The Coast Guard should use the opportunity to bring state and federal agencies, conservation organizations, the shipping industry, and the military together to discuss critical issues about how to protect endangered whale populations," stated Jackie Dragon, marine sanctuaries program director at Pacific Environment.

Contact Info: Brian Segee (x 113) or Kristi Birney Rieman (x 105), Environmental Defense Center, (805) 963-1622
Andrea Treece, Center for Biological Diversity, (415) 436-9682 x 306
Jackie Dragon, Pacific Environment, (415) 399-8850 x 312

Website : Center for Biological Diversity