2016 SoE Marine Chapter - Case Study - Shipping

The Marine chapter of the 2016 State of the Environment (SoE) report incorporates multiple expert templates developed from streams of marine data. This metadata record describes the Case Study "Pressures on the marine environment associated with shipping". The full Case Study, including figures and tables (where provided), is attached to this record. Where available, the Data Stream(s) used to generate this Case Study are accessible through the "On-line Resources" section of this record.----------------------------------------DESCRIPTION OF THE FOCUS OF THE CASE STUDYAustralia as an island relies heavily on shipping for transportation of its imports and exports. In 2013–14, approximately 1274 million tonnes of cargo were loaded and 151 million tonnes discharged at Australian wharves by 5499 vessels that made 28 714 port calls (BITRE 2015).As this shipping traverses Australian waters there is potential for adverse interactions with the marine environment across all regions (see Figure 1 in full case study attached).PRESSURES/ISSUES OF IMPORTANCEThere is a risk of environmental damage from collision or grounding of vessels, and ship strike, which is a significant cause of anthropogenic mortality to whales worldwide. In addition, small recreational vessels regularly injure dugongs, turtles, and dolphins.Known Australian ship strike incidents in recent times have predominately involved humpback whales and based on behaviour and distribution there is potential for mother-calf pairs to be particularly susceptible. There have also been reported incidents with southern right whales, sperm whales and pygmy blue whales. Given the speed and size of modern shipping, collisions with whales have a high probability of being fatal.DATA STREAM(S) USED IN CASE STUDYShip strike reports derived from the Australian Marine Mammal Centre National Marine Mammal Database, Vessel tracking data (AIS records).2016年《环境状况》（State of the Environment, SoE）报告的海洋章节纳入了多个基于海洋数据流构建的专家模板。本元数据记录对应案例研究《航运对海洋环境造成的压力》。本记录已附完整案例研究，含相关图表（若已提供）。若可获取，本案例研究所使用的数据流可通过本记录的“在线资源”板块查阅。 ——案例研究核心主题说明 作为岛屿国家，澳大利亚高度依赖航运开展进出口货物运输。2013至2014年间，共有5499艘船舶累计完成28714次港口挂靠作业，在澳大利亚各码头累计装货约12.74亿吨、卸货约1.51亿吨（BITRE 2015）。 当航运船舶穿行澳大利亚海域时，全区域范围内均存在与海洋环境产生不利交互的潜在风险（详见本记录所附完整案例研究中的图1）。 ——重点压力与相关议题 船舶碰撞、搁浅以及船舶撞鲸事件均存在造成环境破坏的风险，其中船舶撞鲸是全球范围内鲸类人为死亡的重要诱因。此外，小型休闲船舶常会造成儒艮、海龟与海豚受伤。 近期澳大利亚境内已知的船舶撞鲸事件主要涉及座头鲸；结合其行为模式与分布特征，母鲸与幼鲸的组合群体可能尤为易受此类事件影响。此外也有报道称南露脊鲸、抹香鲸与小蓝鲸曾遭遇船舶撞击。鉴于现代船舶的航速与体量，与鲸类发生碰撞大概率会导致鲸类死亡。 ——案例研究所用数据流 船舶撞鲸相关报告源自澳大利亚海洋哺乳动物中心国家海洋哺乳动物数据库；船舶追踪数据采用自动识别系统（Automatic Identification System, AIS）记录。