Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: More Ships, More Whales

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BUENOS AIRES, Feb 11 2008 (IPS) - The non-governmental Fundación Vida Silvestre launched a research plan to prevent accidents between whales and large ships along Argentina's Patagonian coast. The foundation began working this month in Bahía Nueva, near Puerto Madryn, in the southern province of Chubut, where there has been a six percent increase in the annual number of southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) passing through the area, and a parallel increase in the number of increasingly large and fast ships.

“The interaction is not conflictive as of today, but in other countries where there are right whales, accidents do occur. That is why we want to study their behavior, because they seem to be attracted by the hulls. We are also looking for areas of overlap and we will suggest measure for responsible development of nautical activity, Florencia Lemoine, of the foundation's marine program, told Tierramérica.