Washington (AFP)

The vast majority of ships are speeding in areas designated for the protection of North Atlantic right whales, a species on the brink of extinction, says a new study released Wednesday.

The NGO Oceana analyzed the speeds of ships and boats between 2017 and 2020 in the areas established by the United States Agency for Ocean and Atmospheric Observation (NOAA), along the Atlantic coast of the United States.

Non-compliance with limits reached almost 90% in areas with mandatory speed reduction, while non-cooperation was close to 85% in areas where such reduction was optional.

Collisions with ships are one of the two leading causes of injury and death for North Atlantic right whales, also known as North Atlantic right whales.

Research has shown that reducing the speed of ships to 10 knots (18.5 km / h) reduces the risk of death by 80 to 90%.

"Ships are speeding, North Atlantic right whales are dying, and those responsible are not being held accountable enough," said Whitney Webber, campaign manager at Oceana.

The analysis was based on speed and location data collected by Global Fishing Watch, an NGO founded by Oceana in partnership with Google and SkyTruth.

Two-thirds of the speeding ships flew foreign flags, while freighters were the main culprits.

The study focused on vessels 20 meters and over, as they are required to broadcast their position continuously.

But smaller boats can also be fatal to whales.

In February, NOAA announced that a calf had died of its injuries after a collision with the propellers of a recreational fishing boat.

"Killing even one is a problem, as scientists believe that even a single human-induced death of a North Atlantic right whale threatens the species' chances of survival," he said. asserted Whitney Webber.

North Atlantic right whales were particularly prized by whale hunters in the past because of their proximity to the coast, their low swimming speed, and the fact that they floated when dead.

Their population has reached nearly 21,000 individuals but the hunt the species has suffered brought it to the brink of extinction at the beginning of the 20th century.

There were only a hundred left in the 1920s.

North Atlantic right whaling was banned in 1935, causing the number of specimens to rebound to 483 - a number now in decline.

© 2021 AFP