Whales' feeding zones set for decline
The humpback whale is one of the species likely to be affected
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Friday, 20, Jun 2008 10:00
Migratory whales that are already endangered are set to face further problems as climate change impacts on their feeding zones, the WWF has warned.
The environmental charity says that a hotter planet will create shrinking Antarctic foraging zones which will contain less food and will be further away.
It estimates that the levels of global warming over the next 40 years will lead to winter sea-ice coverage of the Southern Ocean declining by up to 30 per cent in some areas.
Less sea ice impacts on whales as their main food source is krill, tiny creatures who depend on the ice.
As such migratory whales may need to travel 200 to 500km further south to find crucial feeding areas.
Species affected are likely to include the blue whale, Earth's largest living creature, and the humpback whale, which is only now coming back from the brink of extinction after populations were decimated by commercial whaling in the 20th century.
"Essentially, what we are seeing is that ice-associated whales will face dramatic changes to their habitat over little more than the lifespan of an individual whale," said Heather Sohl, species officer at WWF-UK.
The charity's warning comes ahead of the opening of an International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting.
"The impact on whales is one more imperative for the world to take decisive action to reduce the risk of catastrophic climate change," Ms Sohl said.
"However, the IWC must also take the opportunity of this meeting to look at every possible way to increase the resilience of whale populations to climate change.
"For Antarctica's whales, the best way to do this would be to reduce all other threats - such as the unregulated and unjustified so-called 'scientific whaling' of these species conducted by Japan."