Global collision-risk hotspots of marine traffic and the world’s largest fish, the whale shark

Freya C. Womersley; Nicolas E. Humphries; Nuno Queiroz; Marisa Vedor; Ivo da Costa; Miguel Furtado; John P. Tyminski; Katya Abrantes; Gonzalo Araujo; Steffen S. Bach; Adam Barnett; Michael L. Berumen; Sandra Bessudo Lion; Camrin D. Braun; Elizabeth Clingham; Jesse Cochran; Rafael de la Parra; Stella Diamant; Alistair D. M. Dove; Christine L. Dudgeon; Mark V. Erdmann; Eduardo Espinoza; Richard Fitzpatrick; Jaime González Cano; Jonathan R. Green; Hector M. Guzman; Royale Hardenstine; Abdi Hasan; Fábio H. V. Hazin; Alex R. Hearn; Robert E. Hueter; Mohammed Y. Jaidah; Jessica Labaja; Felipe Ladino; Bruno C. L. Macena; John J. Morris; Bradley M. Norman; Cesar Peñaherrera-Palma; Simon J. Pierce; Lina M. Quintero; Dení Ramírez-Macías; Samantha D. Reynolds; Anthony J. Richardson; David P. Robinson; Christoph A. Rohner; David R. L. Rowat; Marcus Sheaves; Mahmood S. Shivji; Abraham B. Sianipar; Gregory B. Skomal; German Soler; Ismail Syakurachman; Simon R. Thorrold; D. Harry Webb; Bradley M. Wetherbee; Timothy D. White; Tyler Clavelle; David A. Kroodsma; Michele Thums; Luciana C. Ferreira; Mark Meekan; Lucy M. Arrowsmith; Emily K. Lester; Megan M. Meyers; Lauren R. Peel; Ana M. M. Sequeira; V. M. Eguíluz; Carlos M. Duarte; David W. Sims

doi:10.1073/pnas.2117440119

Global collision-risk hotspots of marine traffic and the world’s largest fish, the whale shark

Freya C. Womersley, Nicolas E. Humphries, Nuno Queiroz, Marisa Vedor, Ivo da Costa, Miguel Furtado, John P. Tyminski, Katya Abrantes, Gonzalo Araujo, Steffen S. Bach, Adam Barnett, Michael L. Berumen, Sandra Bessudo Lion, Camrin D. Braun, Elizabeth Clingham, Jesse Cochran, Rafael de la Parra, Stella Diamant, Alistair D. M. Dove, Christine L. DudgeonMark V. Erdmann, Eduardo Espinoza, Richard Fitzpatrick, Jaime González Cano, Jonathan R. Green, Hector M. Guzman, Royale Hardenstine, Abdi Hasan, Fábio H. V. Hazin, Alex R. Hearn, Robert E. Hueter, Mohammed Y. Jaidah, Jessica Labaja, Felipe Ladino, Bruno C. L. Macena, John J. Morris, Bradley M. Norman, Cesar Peñaherrera-Palma, Simon J. Pierce, Lina M. Quintero, Dení Ramírez-Macías, Samantha D. Reynolds, Anthony J. Richardson, David P. Robinson, Christoph A. Rohner, David R. L. Rowat, Marcus Sheaves, Mahmood S. Shivji, Abraham B. Sianipar, Gregory B. Skomal, German Soler, Ismail Syakurachman, Simon R. Thorrold, D. Harry Webb, Bradley M. Wetherbee, Timothy D. White, Tyler Clavelle, David A. Kroodsma, Michele Thums, Luciana C. Ferreira, Mark Meekan, Lucy M. Arrowsmith, Emily K. Lester, Megan M. Meyers, Lauren R. Peel, Ana M. M. Sequeira, V. M. Eguíluz, Carlos M. Duarte, David W. Sims

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

43 Scopus citations

Abstract

Marine traffic is increasing globally yet collisions with endangered megafauna such as whales, sea turtles, and planktivorous sharks go largely undetected or unreported. Collisions leading to mortality can have population-level consequences for endangered species. Hence, identifying simultaneous space use of megafauna and shipping throughout ranges may reveal as-yet-unknown spatial targets requiring conservation. However, global studies tracking megafauna and shipping occurrences are lacking. Here we combine satellite-tracked movements of the whale shark, Rhincodon typus, and vessel activity to show that 92% of sharks’ horizontal space use and nearly 50% of vertical space use overlap with persistent large vessel (>300 gross tons) traffic. Collision-risk estimates correlated with reported whale shark mortality from ship strikes, indicating higher mortality in areas with greatest overlap. Hotspots of potential collision risk were evident in all major oceans, predominantly from overlap with cargo and tanker vessels, and were concentrated in gulf regions, where dense traffic co-occurred with seasonal shark movements. Nearly a third of whale shark hotspots overlapped with the highest collision-risk areas, with the last known locations of tracked sharks coinciding with busier shipping routes more often than expected. Depth-recording tags provided evidence for sinking, likely dead, whale sharks, suggesting substantial “cryptic” lethal ship strikes are possible, which could explain why whale shark population declines continue despite international protection and low fishing-induced mortality. Mitigation measures to reduce ship-strike risk should be considered to conserve this species and other ocean giants that are likely experiencing similar impacts from growing global vessel traffic.

Original language	English (US)
Journal	Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Volume	119
Issue number	20
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2117440119
State	Published - May 9 2022

Bibliographical note

KAUST Repository Item: Exported on 2022-05-12
Acknowledgements: Funding for data analysis was provided by the UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) through a University of Southampton INSPIRE DTP PhD Studentship to F.C.W. Additional funding for data analysis was provided by NERC Discovery Science (NE/R00997/X/1) and the European Research Council (ERC-AdG-2019 883583 OCEAN DEOXYFISH) to D.W.S.,Fundac ̧~aoparaaCi^encia e a Tecnologia (FCT) under PTDC/BIA/28855/2017 and COMPETE POCI-01–0145-FEDER-028855, and MARINFO–NORTE-01–0145-FEDER-000031 (funded by Norte Portugal Regional Operational Program[NORTE2020] under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund–ERDF) to N.Q. FCT also supported N.Q.(CEECIND/02857/2018) and M.V. (PTDC/BIA-COM/28855/2017). D.W.S. was supported by a Marine Biological Association Senior Research Fellowship. All tagging procedures were approved by institutional ethical review bodies and complied with all relevant ethical regulations in the jurisdictions in which they were performed. Details for individual research teams are given in SI Appendix, section 8. Full acknowledgments for tagging and field research are given in SI Appendix, section 7. This research is part of the Global Shark Movement Project(https://www.globalsharkmovement.org).

ASJC Scopus subject areas

General

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

10.1073/pnas.2117440119

https://repository.kaust.edu.sa/bitstream/10754/676739/1/pnas.2117440119.pdf

Cite this

Womersley, F. C., Humphries, N. E., Queiroz, N., Vedor, M., da Costa, I., Furtado, M., Tyminski, J. P., Abrantes, K., Araujo, G., Bach, S. S., Barnett, A., Berumen, M. L., Bessudo Lion, S., Braun, C. D., Clingham, E., Cochran, J., de la Parra, R., Diamant, S., Dove, A. D. M., ... Sims, D. W. (2022). Global collision-risk hotspots of marine traffic and the world’s largest fish, the whale shark. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119(20). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2117440119

@article{d484439a38c34654b49602bd630bdf8e,

title = "Global collision-risk hotspots of marine traffic and the world{\textquoteright}s largest fish, the whale shark",

abstract = "Marine traffic is increasing globally yet collisions with endangered megafauna such as whales, sea turtles, and planktivorous sharks go largely undetected or unreported. Collisions leading to mortality can have population-level consequences for endangered species. Hence, identifying simultaneous space use of megafauna and shipping throughout ranges may reveal as-yet-unknown spatial targets requiring conservation. However, global studies tracking megafauna and shipping occurrences are lacking. Here we combine satellite-tracked movements of the whale shark, Rhincodon typus, and vessel activity to show that 92% of sharks{\textquoteright} horizontal space use and nearly 50% of vertical space use overlap with persistent large vessel (>300 gross tons) traffic. Collision-risk estimates correlated with reported whale shark mortality from ship strikes, indicating higher mortality in areas with greatest overlap. Hotspots of potential collision risk were evident in all major oceans, predominantly from overlap with cargo and tanker vessels, and were concentrated in gulf regions, where dense traffic co-occurred with seasonal shark movements. Nearly a third of whale shark hotspots overlapped with the highest collision-risk areas, with the last known locations of tracked sharks coinciding with busier shipping routes more often than expected. Depth-recording tags provided evidence for sinking, likely dead, whale sharks, suggesting substantial “cryptic” lethal ship strikes are possible, which could explain why whale shark population declines continue despite international protection and low fishing-induced mortality. Mitigation measures to reduce ship-strike risk should be considered to conserve this species and other ocean giants that are likely experiencing similar impacts from growing global vessel traffic.",

author = "Womersley, {Freya C.} and Humphries, {Nicolas E.} and Nuno Queiroz and Marisa Vedor and {da Costa}, Ivo and Miguel Furtado and Tyminski, {John P.} and Katya Abrantes and Gonzalo Araujo and Bach, {Steffen S.} and Adam Barnett and Berumen, {Michael L.} and {Bessudo Lion}, Sandra and Braun, {Camrin D.} and Elizabeth Clingham and Jesse Cochran and {de la Parra}, Rafael and Stella Diamant and Dove, {Alistair D. M.} and Dudgeon, {Christine L.} and Erdmann, {Mark V.} and Eduardo Espinoza and Richard Fitzpatrick and Cano, {Jaime Gonz{\'a}lez} and Green, {Jonathan R.} and Guzman, {Hector M.} and Royale Hardenstine and Abdi Hasan and Hazin, {F{\'a}bio H. V.} and Hearn, {Alex R.} and Hueter, {Robert E.} and Jaidah, {Mohammed Y.} and Jessica Labaja and Felipe Ladino and Macena, {Bruno C. L.} and Morris, {John J.} and Norman, {Bradley M.} and Cesar Pe{\~n}aherrera-Palma and Pierce, {Simon J.} and Quintero, {Lina M.} and Den{\'i} Ram{\'i}rez-Mac{\'i}as and Reynolds, {Samantha D.} and Richardson, {Anthony J.} and Robinson, {David P.} and Rohner, {Christoph A.} and Rowat, {David R. L.} and Marcus Sheaves and Shivji, {Mahmood S.} and Sianipar, {Abraham B.} and Skomal, {Gregory B.} and German Soler and Ismail Syakurachman and Thorrold, {Simon R.} and Webb, {D. Harry} and Wetherbee, {Bradley M.} and White, {Timothy D.} and Tyler Clavelle and Kroodsma, {David A.} and Michele Thums and Ferreira, {Luciana C.} and Mark Meekan and Arrowsmith, {Lucy M.} and Lester, {Emily K.} and Meyers, {Megan M.} and Peel, {Lauren R.} and Sequeira, {Ana M. M.} and Egu{\'i}luz, {V. M.} and Duarte, {Carlos M.} and Sims, {David W.}",

note = "KAUST Repository Item: Exported on 2022-05-12 Acknowledgements: Funding for data analysis was provided by the UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) through a University of Southampton INSPIRE DTP PhD Studentship to F.C.W. Additional funding for data analysis was provided by NERC Discovery Science (NE/R00997/X/1) and the European Research Council (ERC-AdG-2019 883583 OCEAN DEOXYFISH) to D.W.S.,Fundac{\c }~aoparaaCi^encia e a Tecnologia (FCT) under PTDC/BIA/28855/2017 and COMPETE POCI-01–0145-FEDER-028855, and MARINFO–NORTE-01–0145-FEDER-000031 (funded by Norte Portugal Regional Operational Program[NORTE2020] under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund–ERDF) to N.Q. FCT also supported N.Q.(CEECIND/02857/2018) and M.V. (PTDC/BIA-COM/28855/2017). D.W.S. was supported by a Marine Biological Association Senior Research Fellowship. All tagging procedures were approved by institutional ethical review bodies and complied with all relevant ethical regulations in the jurisdictions in which they were performed. Details for individual research teams are given in SI Appendix, section 8. Full acknowledgments for tagging and field research are given in SI Appendix, section 7. This research is part of the Global Shark Movement Project(https://www.globalsharkmovement.org).",

year = "2022",

month = may,

day = "9",

doi = "10.1073/pnas.2117440119",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "119",

journal = "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences",

issn = "0027-8424",

publisher = "National Academy of Sciences",

number = "20",

}

Womersley, FC, Humphries, NE, Queiroz, N, Vedor, M, da Costa, I, Furtado, M, Tyminski, JP, Abrantes, K, Araujo, G, Bach, SS, Barnett, A, Berumen, ML, Bessudo Lion, S, Braun, CD, Clingham, E, Cochran, J, de la Parra, R, Diamant, S, Dove, ADM, Dudgeon, CL, Erdmann, MV, Espinoza, E, Fitzpatrick, R, Cano, JG, Green, JR, Guzman, HM, Hardenstine, R, Hasan, A, Hazin, FHV, Hearn, AR, Hueter, RE, Jaidah, MY, Labaja, J, Ladino, F, Macena, BCL, Morris, JJ, Norman, BM, Peñaherrera-Palma, C, Pierce, SJ, Quintero, LM, Ramírez-Macías, D, Reynolds, SD, Richardson, AJ, Robinson, DP, Rohner, CA, Rowat, DRL, Sheaves, M, Shivji, MS, Sianipar, AB, Skomal, GB, Soler, G, Syakurachman, I, Thorrold, SR, Webb, DH, Wetherbee, BM, White, TD, Clavelle, T, Kroodsma, DA, Thums, M, Ferreira, LC, Meekan, M, Arrowsmith, LM, Lester, EK, Meyers, MM, Peel, LR, Sequeira, AMM, Eguíluz, VM, Duarte, CM & Sims, DW 2022, 'Global collision-risk hotspots of marine traffic and the world’s largest fish, the whale shark', Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 119, no. 20. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2117440119

TY - JOUR

T1 - Global collision-risk hotspots of marine traffic and the world’s largest fish, the whale shark

AU - Womersley, Freya C.

AU - Humphries, Nicolas E.

AU - Queiroz, Nuno

AU - Vedor, Marisa

AU - da Costa, Ivo

AU - Furtado, Miguel

AU - Tyminski, John P.

AU - Abrantes, Katya

AU - Araujo, Gonzalo

AU - Bach, Steffen S.

AU - Barnett, Adam

AU - Berumen, Michael L.

AU - Bessudo Lion, Sandra

AU - Braun, Camrin D.

AU - Clingham, Elizabeth

AU - Cochran, Jesse

AU - de la Parra, Rafael

AU - Diamant, Stella

AU - Dove, Alistair D. M.

AU - Dudgeon, Christine L.

AU - Erdmann, Mark V.

AU - Espinoza, Eduardo

AU - Fitzpatrick, Richard

AU - Cano, Jaime González

AU - Green, Jonathan R.

AU - Guzman, Hector M.

AU - Hardenstine, Royale

AU - Hasan, Abdi

AU - Hazin, Fábio H. V.

AU - Hearn, Alex R.

AU - Hueter, Robert E.

AU - Jaidah, Mohammed Y.

AU - Labaja, Jessica

AU - Ladino, Felipe

AU - Macena, Bruno C. L.

AU - Morris, John J.

AU - Norman, Bradley M.

AU - Peñaherrera-Palma, Cesar

AU - Pierce, Simon J.

AU - Quintero, Lina M.

AU - Ramírez-Macías, Dení

AU - Reynolds, Samantha D.

AU - Richardson, Anthony J.

AU - Robinson, David P.

AU - Rohner, Christoph A.

AU - Rowat, David R. L.

AU - Sheaves, Marcus

AU - Shivji, Mahmood S.

AU - Sianipar, Abraham B.

AU - Skomal, Gregory B.

AU - Soler, German

AU - Syakurachman, Ismail

AU - Thorrold, Simon R.

AU - Webb, D. Harry

AU - Wetherbee, Bradley M.

AU - White, Timothy D.

AU - Clavelle, Tyler

AU - Kroodsma, David A.

AU - Thums, Michele

AU - Ferreira, Luciana C.

AU - Meekan, Mark

AU - Arrowsmith, Lucy M.

AU - Lester, Emily K.

AU - Meyers, Megan M.

AU - Peel, Lauren R.

AU - Sequeira, Ana M. M.

AU - Eguíluz, V. M.

AU - Duarte, Carlos M.

AU - Sims, David W.

N1 - KAUST Repository Item: Exported on 2022-05-12 Acknowledgements: Funding for data analysis was provided by the UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) through a University of Southampton INSPIRE DTP PhD Studentship to F.C.W. Additional funding for data analysis was provided by NERC Discovery Science (NE/R00997/X/1) and the European Research Council (ERC-AdG-2019 883583 OCEAN DEOXYFISH) to D.W.S.,Fundac ̧~aoparaaCi^encia e a Tecnologia (FCT) under PTDC/BIA/28855/2017 and COMPETE POCI-01–0145-FEDER-028855, and MARINFO–NORTE-01–0145-FEDER-000031 (funded by Norte Portugal Regional Operational Program[NORTE2020] under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund–ERDF) to N.Q. FCT also supported N.Q.(CEECIND/02857/2018) and M.V. (PTDC/BIA-COM/28855/2017). D.W.S. was supported by a Marine Biological Association Senior Research Fellowship. All tagging procedures were approved by institutional ethical review bodies and complied with all relevant ethical regulations in the jurisdictions in which they were performed. Details for individual research teams are given in SI Appendix, section 8. Full acknowledgments for tagging and field research are given in SI Appendix, section 7. This research is part of the Global Shark Movement Project(https://www.globalsharkmovement.org).

PY - 2022/5/9

Y1 - 2022/5/9

N2 - Marine traffic is increasing globally yet collisions with endangered megafauna such as whales, sea turtles, and planktivorous sharks go largely undetected or unreported. Collisions leading to mortality can have population-level consequences for endangered species. Hence, identifying simultaneous space use of megafauna and shipping throughout ranges may reveal as-yet-unknown spatial targets requiring conservation. However, global studies tracking megafauna and shipping occurrences are lacking. Here we combine satellite-tracked movements of the whale shark, Rhincodon typus, and vessel activity to show that 92% of sharks’ horizontal space use and nearly 50% of vertical space use overlap with persistent large vessel (>300 gross tons) traffic. Collision-risk estimates correlated with reported whale shark mortality from ship strikes, indicating higher mortality in areas with greatest overlap. Hotspots of potential collision risk were evident in all major oceans, predominantly from overlap with cargo and tanker vessels, and were concentrated in gulf regions, where dense traffic co-occurred with seasonal shark movements. Nearly a third of whale shark hotspots overlapped with the highest collision-risk areas, with the last known locations of tracked sharks coinciding with busier shipping routes more often than expected. Depth-recording tags provided evidence for sinking, likely dead, whale sharks, suggesting substantial “cryptic” lethal ship strikes are possible, which could explain why whale shark population declines continue despite international protection and low fishing-induced mortality. Mitigation measures to reduce ship-strike risk should be considered to conserve this species and other ocean giants that are likely experiencing similar impacts from growing global vessel traffic.

AB - Marine traffic is increasing globally yet collisions with endangered megafauna such as whales, sea turtles, and planktivorous sharks go largely undetected or unreported. Collisions leading to mortality can have population-level consequences for endangered species. Hence, identifying simultaneous space use of megafauna and shipping throughout ranges may reveal as-yet-unknown spatial targets requiring conservation. However, global studies tracking megafauna and shipping occurrences are lacking. Here we combine satellite-tracked movements of the whale shark, Rhincodon typus, and vessel activity to show that 92% of sharks’ horizontal space use and nearly 50% of vertical space use overlap with persistent large vessel (>300 gross tons) traffic. Collision-risk estimates correlated with reported whale shark mortality from ship strikes, indicating higher mortality in areas with greatest overlap. Hotspots of potential collision risk were evident in all major oceans, predominantly from overlap with cargo and tanker vessels, and were concentrated in gulf regions, where dense traffic co-occurred with seasonal shark movements. Nearly a third of whale shark hotspots overlapped with the highest collision-risk areas, with the last known locations of tracked sharks coinciding with busier shipping routes more often than expected. Depth-recording tags provided evidence for sinking, likely dead, whale sharks, suggesting substantial “cryptic” lethal ship strikes are possible, which could explain why whale shark population declines continue despite international protection and low fishing-induced mortality. Mitigation measures to reduce ship-strike risk should be considered to conserve this species and other ocean giants that are likely experiencing similar impacts from growing global vessel traffic.

UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10754/676739

UR - https://pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2117440119

U2 - 10.1073/pnas.2117440119

DO - 10.1073/pnas.2117440119

M3 - Article

C2 - 35533277

SN - 0027-8424

VL - 119

JO - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

JF - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

IS - 20

ER -

Global collision-risk hotspots of marine traffic and the world’s largest fish, the whale shark

Abstract

Bibliographical note

ASJC Scopus subject areas

UN SDGs

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GlobalSharkMovement/GlobalCollisionRisk: Repository containing derived data for the manuscript 'Global collision-risk hotspots of marine traffic and the world's largest fish, the whale shark'

Cite this

Global collision-risk hotspots of marine traffic and the world’s largest fish, the whale shark

Abstract

Bibliographical note

ASJC Scopus subject areas

UN SDGs

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Datasets

GlobalSharkMovement/GlobalCollisionRisk: Repository containing derived data for the manuscript 'Global collision-risk hotspots of marine traffic and the world's largest fish, the whale shark'

Cite this