SDG 14 | submarine life
Maritime traffic in the Canary Islands kills more sperm whales than are born
Ferries and ships are getting more powerful, they have more speed and energy, but that also reduces their maneuverability. Something that can seriously affect the lives of whales and cetaceans. «It has been observed in recent years that there are more whale strandings. And it is believed that it is closely related to the increase in power of the ferries,” says María Aspiroz, principal investigator in Marine Technology and Environmental Sciences at the Arquimea Research Center.
It is estimated that, at least in the Canary Islands, more sperm whales die from the impact with these shipping vessels than are born. Something that threatens the survival of this species and the sustainability of the planet. The problem is such that even the Government of the islands has a
Canarian Cetacean Stranding Network.
As Aspiroz explains, the natural behavior of cetaceans means that, even when they are on the surface and visible to ships, there is a high probability of colliding. When these marine animals finish fishing by diving and come to the surface “they are so exhausted that no ship’s siren makes them react.”
For this reason, a group of researchers from the Spanish company Arquimea have been working for years to develop a technology that allows ships to detect the presence of these large marine animals and prevent them from colliding with them.
layered technology
As explained by these researchers, who at the moment are focusing their research on the Canary Islands and on sperm whales (which have a permanent resident community on the islands, due to the conditions they find in the area), this technology is being developed in layers, so that each of them can be used in isolation or together. “None of these technologies is 100% perfect, they all have limitations,” they explain. “The idea is to overlap layers with technologies so that these technological gaps cover each other.”
One of them is acoustics. Each cetacean has its own sound and researchers have managed to identify the sound of each species. Something that, according to his explanations, is very complex taking into account the amount of noise (waves, engines, tides, winds, tidal waves…) that exist in the depths. The next step would be to install powerful hydrophones in the deep sea to detect the sound of these animals. Something that, they recognize, is not easy due to the high cost involved.
Another layer is the thermal image, through which, through cameras, the boats would be able to recognize the presence of these sperm whales, both at sea level and in the depths, with enough time for the boat to change course and not crash.
Canary Islands whale density map
Although it is still in the study phase, researchers are also analyzing the possibility of using submarine fiber optic cables as a system to triangulate the presence of cetaceans.
According to these researchers, every year at least two or three specimens of these sperm whales arrive on the beaches of the Canary Islands after they have collided with some type of boat, so they calculate that there will be more cetaceans that suffer these accidents.
The fast ferries that connect the islands, “are starting to become aware”
They also remember how human activity in the sea can affect underwater life. In 2002, a dozen cetaceans died off the coast of Lanzarote and Fuerteventura after military tests were carried out in the area. Although at first it was thought that the sound of those maneuvers damaged their auditory system in such a way that they became disoriented, it ended up being shown that what it caused was that they stayed longer at depth, which altered their nitrogen levels and that caused them to death.
commercialize the technology
These researchers recognize that commercializing this technology, given its high cost, is not easy. “The client is not going to pay what this technology costs unless they are forced to”, acknowledges Ruben Criado, director of the Research Center, who considers that “we cannot wait for there to be legislation that makes it compulsory to have this type of system”.
Of course, he assures that some shipping companies, especially the fast ferries that connect the islands, “are beginning to become aware.” In fact, the tests that are going to be carried out with the thermal imaging technology are going to be carried out with one of these companies.
Map marine routes and presence of whales.
In any case, and given the importance of the sustainability parameters by which companies are increasingly measured, this engineer believes that it is time to innovate in the way these technologies are marketed. Thus, they are studying the feasibility of “tokenizing the positive environmental impact” that, in each of these companies, would have the use of these tools with which to avoid collisions with marine animals. Something that is already being explored with other technologies, such as the use of algae to clean ocean waste.
“We are a research center, but our goal is to speed up our research so that it positively affects society,” he remarks. Being a private center, he recognizes that this research must have an economic return on investment “for it to be sustainable” but, he adds, “we try to ensure that the projects have as high a socioeconomic impact as possible.”
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