UCSB earmarks $1.5 million dollars toward ship strike research

UC Santa Barbara is earmarking $1.5 million dollars to find ways to keep whales out of harms way.

Ship strikes, whales colliding with large shipping vessels, are a growing problem, particularly in the Santa Barbara Channel’s shipping lanes. However, in recent years, the lanes off the Santa Barbara County coast were rerouted in hopes of diminishing the number of whale fatalities.

Overall, marine researchers say they’ve have seen an uptick in whale fatalities linked to ship strikes over the past 50 years.

UCSB’s Benioff Ocean Initiative is dedicated the $1.5 million dollars towards research to help find a solution to the problem.

The effort is worldwide and involves seed funding and a quest for new designs and technologies that can be used across the globe.

Save the Whales: To view the complete story, open the attached news release, or go to http://www.news.ucsb.edu/2017/017811/save-whales.