A voluntary conservation agreement reduces the risks of lethal collisions between ships and whales in the St. Lawrence Estuary (Quebec, Canada): From co-construction to monitoring compliance and assessing effectiveness.

ABSTRACT: Lethal collisions with ships are limiting the recovery of several at-risk whale species worldwide. In the St. Lawrence Estuary (Quebec, Canada), the endangered blue whale and of special concern fin whale are among the migratory species subject to collisions with large ships. In 2011, a working group composed of representatives from the maritime industry, the government, non-governmental organizations, and academia was created to explore solutions to mitigate ship-whale collisions in the St. Lawrence Estuary. Adopting an adaptive risk management framework, the working group took advantage of the best available scientific data and tools to co-construct realistic collision mitigation options and evaluate their likely benefits for whale conservation and costs for the industry. In 2013, the wor

SUBMITTER: Chion C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6150506 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature