Whether it’s smartphones or sneakers, toys or tents, about 80% of commercial goods are transported to markets around the world using giant container ships. As global shipping routes grow to meet increasing demand, so too does the likelihood of fatal collisions with whale species whose ranges overlap with them. 

Researchers at the University of Washington led a team of international scientists who measured, for the first time, the risk of ship strikes worldwide among humpback, blue, fin and sperm whales. They found that 92% of global shipping traffic overlaps with the habitats of these whales. Meanwhile, only 7% of the hotspots in the world’s oceans where the risk of collisions between whales and ships is greatest have any measures in place to protect the marine mammals. 

Anna Nisi is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Washington’s Center for Ecosystem Sentinels, and the lead author of the recently published paper. She joins us to share her findings and what might be done to protect whales threatened by the multi-billion dollar shipping industry.