Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2015L01633:body:0:p31
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2015L01633
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Character Range: 84387–87278

continued threat to blue whales off Australia. POPs, including DDTs, have been found in blue whales using waters off Canada40,79. POPs have the potential to cause harm in blue whale calves during development, and may affect fertility of mature individuals8,39.
Heavy metals are also persistent and are able to bioaccumulate and biomagnify. Heavy metal concentrations can increase in the environment through practices including mining and processing, burning fossil fuels, and the use of fertilisers or pesticides containing heavy metals. These can enter the marine environment through run-off, effluents, or atmospheric transport. The effects of heavy metals and its degree of toxicity in cetaceans is poorly understood, but there is evidence that heavy metals may pose a threat in baleen whales through immunosuppression115.

5E Vessel Disturbance
Vessel disturbance can occur in the form of collisions or by disrupting the behaviour of animals. The type of vessels involved can range from large commercial vessels, to small recreational vessels including personal watercraft such as jet skis.
Vessel Collisions
Collisions will impede recovery of blue whale populations if a sufficient number of individuals in the population lose reproductive fitness or are killed. Although all forms of vessels can collide with whales, severe or lethal injuries are more likely to occur by larger or faster vessels61,110. Collisions with calves may be more likely because they spend more time at the surface, are slower, or may need to learn to avoid vessels61.
The EPBC Act requires all collisions to be reported in Commonwealth waters (i.e. 3 to 200 nautical miles from coast), with similar reporting enacted in state and territory governments (i.e. within 3 nautical miles from the coast). In 2006, a Navy vessel struck and killed a blue whale in the Fremantle shipping lanes off Western Australia, close to the Perth Canyon and within the feeding season6. Subsequently, the Western Australian Government and the Navy developed and implemented a successful Navy protocol to reduce vessel collision in the shipping lanes associated with the Fremantle Port.
Since 2006 there have been two records of likely ship strikes of blue whales in Australia. In 2009 and 2010, there were blue whale strandings in Victoria near the Bonney Upwelling with suspected ship strike injuries visible7,8. There have been increases in recent years in recreational fishing of southern bluefin tuna (Thunnus maccoyii) at the continental shelf waters off Portland and other ports in south west Victoria during the blue whale feeding season, which increases the potential collisions with blue whales in this region. Blue whales in the Bonney Upwelling region regularly feed at the surface on krill aggregations and are likely to be more vulnerable to ship strike.
It is likely this risk will increase as shipping traffic grows,