Liquidified natural gas (LNG) tankers began crossing the Great Bear Sea on B.C.’s North Coast this week to fill up at LNG Canada’s now-operational terminal, despite no public plan to address the deadly threats to at-risk fin and humpback whales that this 700 per cent increase in vessel traffic will cause over the next five years. In fact, LNG Canada’s decision to run these first five vessel transits under cover of darkness makes whales even more vulnerable to fatal ship-strikes with the crew’s nighttime visibility limited. A peer-reviewed study published in 2023 by a team of researchers and WWF partners estimated that by 2030, LNG vessel traffic to and from the export terminals in Kitimat, B.C. will result in *30 times* more whale-vessel encounters annually for ships more than 180 metres in length. This is considerably smaller than the typical 300-metre LNG tankers. The models in this study predict that, when fully operational, LNG-related shipping will lead to the deaths of two fin whales and 18 humpbacks each year over the terminal’s 40-year lifespan unless effective mitigation measures are put in place. Reducing speeds below 10 knots, for example, can decrease the likelihood of a strike being lethal. Unfortunately, LNG Canada’s marine mammal monitoring and management plan, required as part of the project’s conditions, is proprietary and has not been made public or independently reviewed. As a result, we have low confidence in its effectiveness. There is no indication of how the impacts of this increased shipping on at-risk whales will be monitored and no way of knowing how or if data on whale strikes will be collected. In addition to increasing strike risk, this intensification of commercial shipping will also bring a significant increase in underwater noise and waste dumping to a marine environment that is already too loud and too dirty. Government and industry must address these fundamental threats by regulating vessel speeds, timing of transits and routes through critical whale habitat while at the same time monitoring the effectiveness of these mitigations. Without such a comprehensive plan, WWF-Canada remains very concerned that there will be unsustainable losses that will reverse the recovery of these now increasingly at-risk whales. (fb)

🐧✨ Happy #WorldSeabirdDay! 📍Native to the Atlantic and the official bird of Newfoundland, Atlantic puffins spend most of their lives out at sea — but come spring and summer, they return in massive coastal colonies to breed. 🌊 With bright beaks and wild underwater skills, puffins can dive up to 60 metres deep to hunt small forage fish. 🐟 (fb)