The deaths of two whales off the coast of Tenerife within the space of just 24 hours last week has prompted the Canarian government to step up its request to ferry companies to help reduce accidents.
Initial examinations of the dead sperm whales, one of them a 9-metre female and the other a young male, indicate the presence of injuries consistent with contact with propellors of high-speed ferries.
The region’s minister for ecological transition Mariano Hernández Zapata said the government is engaged in a major project to help protect the populations of whales living in Canarian waters by improving detection methods used by ferries on the various crossings between the islands.
The minister added that work was also underway to review and improve shipping routes with a view to greater protection for the Canaries’ marine biodiversity.
The latest fatalities have led marine conservation experts to demand urgent measures to safeguard the whales and dolphins that have made the waters in the Canaries their home.
According to Natacha Aguilar from the Canarian Oceanographic Centre and La Laguna’s University’s Marc Martín Solá, the populations of sperm whales off the Canaries are declining fast, with collisions with ferries and other shipping identified among the main causes. Renowned marine biologist Aguilar went as far as to predict the complete disappearance of the whales at local level if action is not taken.
“In the period covering less than the lifespan of a sperm whale, the speed of the boats has doubled, as has the number of them sailing through their natural habitat” the expert told regional newspaper Atlántico Hoy.
One particular concern for experts is that the reproduction possibilities of the whale community off Tenerife have been seriously curtailed by the loss of the female and young male.
La Laguna University is currently working with the Fred Olsen ferry company on the installation of state-of-the-art thermal cameras that will enable ferries on crossings from Tenerife, Gran Canaria and Fuerteventura to detect the presence of whales in real time, day and night, and take appropriate action to avoid collisions.
Photo credit: Marc Martín Sola
