Whale woes: Some recommendations for ships won't be easy to follow, says Oceanex head

As scientists continue to testthe carcasses of the 10 right whales that have washed up on Atlantic Canada shorelines, Fisheries and Oceans Canada is asking shipsto keep an eye out andgo slower if possible.

Fisheries Minister Dominic LeBlanctold anews conference Thursday inMoncton, N.B., that hisdepartment and Transport Canada havebeen working together to find ways to ensure the safety of North Atlantic right whales in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

The impacts would be huge financially as well as directly because time is money.-Capt. Sid Hynes, executive chairman of Oceanex

"Every option to protect right whales is on the table," he said.

Preliminary reports from three necropsies have shown that collisions with ships may have contributed to the animals' deaths, so LeBlanc is asking that ships slow down as they make their way through the Gulf.

• North Atlantic right whale deaths appear to be from collisions with ships, fishing gear

Ships have been asked to slow to 10 knotsbecause scientists have determined that's the speed whales would have a higher chance of surviving an impact with ship.

Ships typically travel at 20 knots or faster. Ten knots is a recommendation and not a requirement.

Capt. Sid Hynes, executive chairman of Oceanex, a shipping company that transports goods through the Gulf to Newfoundland and Labrador, says reducing speed wouldn't be without consequence.

"If we were to do that, that's half-speed, which is double the time," he said.

"Seven-day service would become something much longer. The impacts would be huge financially as well as directly because time is money."

Food supply would be affected

The supply schedule withships is so fine-tuned thatany disruption wouldbe noticeable at the grocery store, Hynes said.

"If we don't show up here Monday morning, chances are what you thought you were going tohave Monday evening, you won't," he said.

Oceanex has instructed captains to keep a close eye out during daylight hours. Mariners have also been asked to keep their depth-soundinggear running, so the ships make a lot of noise in the water and hopefully scare the whales out of their paths.

It's real strange because it's simple for a whale to get out of the way, they just dive.- Sid Hynes

Hynes saidhe and the Oceanex fleet are as baffled as everyone else about the right whale situation.

"Whales have been there for years, but we never heard of this before," he said.

"It's real strange because it's simple for a whale to get out of the way they just dive."

Researchers unsure of cause

Scientists aren't ready to entirely blame ships andfishing gear, and are concerned that something else might be happening.

Kim Davies of Dalhousie University's Department of Oceanography told CBC earlier this week thatresearchers have been worried about the right whales in the area for years long before these carcasses started washing up on the shores.

They've been concerned there weren't as many calves and that perhaps the whales are in the Gulf of St. Lawrence because their food supplies in other areas aren't enough to sustain them, or that maybe another health factor is making them more susceptible to other stressorslike ships.

"So we can't rule out that there's some health factor that's contributing to these animals perhaps being more susceptible to dying if they are hit by ships," she said.