Jess Morten grew up in Connecticut, but has held Monterey Bay close from a young age. Her mother would bring her on trips to California to visit family where she’d frequent the Monterey Bay Aquarium with her grandfather. She fell in love with whales and the west coast, and took positions early in her career conducting whale behavioral studies and even scooping whale feces in the San Juan Islands to measure stress hormones in orcas.
She’s made the central coast home since attaining her graduate degree in international environmental policy with a specialization in ocean and coastal resource management at MIIS.
Today, a resident of Aptos, Morten utilizes her research experience and knowledge of ocean policy to serve as a Resource Protection Specialist with the Greater Farallones Association and the California Marine Sanctuary Foundation in support of NOAA’s Channel Islands, Cordell Bank and Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuaries. “As a project coordinator and data analyst for sanctuaries enhancing whale conservation and marine enforcement, the majority of my efforts are geared towards reducing the risk of ship strikes on whales in California.”
California boasts an impressive network of sanctuaries, federally protected areas where many species concentrate and migrate as they search for food and reproduce. California’s seasonal upwelling creates a priority feeding ground for three endangered whales; blue, humpback and fin.
According to NOAA, the endangered blue whale population is estimated to be just above 1,500 individuals, humpbacks are estimated at more than 2,700, and the fin whale population is more than 8,000 individuals. Ship strikes, when whales and vessels collide often fatally for whales, is a major concern for compromised populations that have not rebounded from whaling. “We know these species congregate in nearshore waters in the summer and fall, and they’re the endangered whale species we see in the highest numbers off California’s coast,” says Morten. “Blue whales are the primary concern, since their population is not showing trajectories of recovery.”
The feeding region of blue whales extends from San Diego to Fort Bragg, while humpbacks feed along the entire California coast and up to Washington. Fin whales forage further offshore. All three whale habitats overlap with high amounts of shipping traffic. Morten confirms that there’s been reports of 500 blue whales, roughly one third of the remaining population, feeding near San Miguel Island in the Channel Islands.
“Not far away from the largest known concentration of blue whales in the world is the largest port complex in the country at Los Angeles/Long Beach,” Morten says. “This one port complex supplies approximately 35-40% of the goods that arrive in our country. The Port of Oakland is smaller but is also a significant hub for container shipping, followed by the Port of San Diego, and thousands of vessels transit along our coastline each year as they head to and from these ports.”
Accurate ship strike data is challenging to track and collect. “I use words like ‘recorded’ and ‘documented’ because we know that the number of documented ship strikes is only a subset of the total taking place. Most whales sink after being hit and killed, and research partners estimate it’s closer to 80 endangered whales killed by ship strikes per season each year on the U.S. west coast.”
Due to their sheer size, there’s not a simple fix for vessels to avoid whales. “Driving one of these vessels is equivalent to driving a skyscraper across the ocean’s surface,” says Morten. “Some container ships are longer than 1,300 feet. They don’t seem to notice if they’ve hit an animal, and only become aware if they come into port with a whale on their bow. Ships are so large that if they’re going 20 knots it takes time to slow down and it’s really hard for them to maneuver out of a whale’s path, even if they spot it.”
NOAA has worked to decrease strikes by engaging with USCG and the International Maritime Organization to reroute shipping lanes. “Shipping lane changes are a product of effective stakeholder discussions. Sanctuary staff have met with industry, research and conservation, fishing, and government groups to evaluate proposed changes and incorporate feedback on the optimum placement of lanes based on the best available whale data and all the different uses of the area, all while preserving navigational safety,” says Morten. “Sadly, altering lanes doesn’t solve everything, as different species occupy different places and the whales move around year to year and decade to decade.”
Morten finds optimism in a voluntary Vessel Speed Reduction Program known as Protecting Blue Whales and Blue Skies, which incentives companies to slow down while driving along the California coast. Large vessels are encouraged to adhere to seasonal and predictable slow speed zones that can save a whale’s life by giving it time to move to safety. Even if a whale is hit by a slow moving vessel, it’s less likely to die from the strike.
Participating companies are offered financial incentives of up to $30,000 depending on their cooperation level, as well as positive press. “Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), now the largest container line in the world, is an example of a global company that has committed to these regional conservation efforts and achieved top level results every year since they signed up their entire fleet.”
There’s significant benefits from large vessels slowing down in areas off our coast beyond reducing ship strike risk, including underwater noise and air emissions reductions. “California county air district agencies are essential partners. We’ve been amazed by the air quality gains resulting from protecting whales and slowing ships down offshore. This is especially apparent in southern California where smog is consistent, particularly in the summer and fall months when the whales happen to be in town, too,” says Morten.
“We are on the cusp of big change,” says Morten. “People are starting to pay attention to this problem; they’re thinking about how the items they order online arrive on their doorstep or on a market shelf. There are people who consider their environmental impact, and who’d like to know that their goods arrived on ships that cooperated with whale safe policies. It’s also important to remember that more buying equals more ships idling offshore or arriving at our ports to meet our demand, which increases the risk of ship strikes and adds underwater noise to important whale feeding habitats. Our collective consumer habits affect more than just our wallets, and we are beginning to make that connection.”
Rachel Kippen is an ocean educator and sustainability advocate in Santa Cruz County and can be reached at newsroom@santacruzsentinel.com.
