In recent years, ship strikes have emerged as a primary threat to recovering whale populations. Nowhere is this conflict more apparent than in the Santa Barbara Channel.

The Santa Barbara Channel provides habitat for a variety of species including fin, gray, humpback whales, but is especially renowned for harboring the densest seasonal population of blue whales anywhere on the planet. It also has some of the busiest shipping lanes in the world; with upwards of 6,000-7,000 cargo ships transiting the channel in any given year.

In 2007 the urgent need to address the ship strike issues was tragically illustrated, when at least four blue whales were struck and killed within the Channel in a three-week period (a fifth whale was the baby from pregnant whale). In the wake of these deaths the Environmental Defense Center (EDC) has been pursing immediate proactive measures that include changes to the shipping lane configuration and mandatory speed limits.

This October will be a big month for EDC as we expect to find out if these two strategies we have been advocating for - lane configuration changes and reduced ship speeds - will be considered by management agencies. In October we anticipate the release of a U.S. Coast Guard study that may consider changes to the shipping lanes and we will find out if the four California National Marine Sanctuaries will consider a 10-knot speed limit within Sanctuary boundaries for large cargo/container ships.

While this problem might seem bigger than something the average person can tackle there are things that we can individually do to help reduce the threat to whales. These include:
· buying less

· buying local, and

· buying for the long term.
These actions cut down on the number of cargo ships carrying goods across our oceans and reduce the chance of collisions between whales and ships. Get out and see the whales and support local conservation organization like EDC as they continue to work on solving these problems.

In closing, it is important for us to remember that as surfers the ocean is our playground- but for whales, dolphins and other marine life; it is there home. We have an opportunity to change our actions that negatively affect their home in the hope of creating a healthier place for them to live and for us to play.