There have been eight deaths reported since early June, and examinations of five of the carcasses showed three of them had injuries consistent with ship strikes -- a leading cause of death for these rare mammals.
Of the more than 2,200 large vessels that transited the gulf's shipping corridors between April 28 and July 25, the Canadian Coast Guard found 227 vessels had exceeded the reduced 10-knot speed limit -- but after investigation three quarters of these cases were closed without fines. Boris Worm, a biology professor and well-known whale expert at Dalhousie University in Halifax, said marine mammal experts are aware of the challenges faced by the shipping industry.
On Friday, Transport Canada said it had issued $7,800 speeding fines to two cargo vessels: the Americaborg, a Dutch container ship, and the Atlantic Spirit, a bulk carrier registered in Hong Kong.