Current impacts and Assessment

Current Impacts and Assessment 

• The current estimation of the sperm whale population is from 200,000 to over 1,500,000. ( And just for reference, more than 1,000,000 sperm whales were killed in whaling era)
• Although it is not whaling era anymore, the sperm whale is currently considered as an endangered species. There are three sperm whales are killed by human cause rather than natural deaths. 
• Even though we take some action to protect the sperm whale, due to the historical whaling,
  current human impacts, and the slow rate of recovery of the sperm whale population (possibly on the orderof 1% per year),
  the sperm whale needs to be paid more attention and have further protective action for them.

Some negative impacts that human cause

1. The plastic pollution in the ocean is a chronically harmful source for sperm whale health

Plastic pollution in the Ocean

In 2016, 13 sperm whale dead with stomachs full of plastic on the beaches in Germany In 2018, a sperm whale found dead with 13 pounds of plastic in its stomach in eastern indonisia 115 drinking cups, 25 plastic bags, plastic bottles, two flip-flops and a bag containing more than 1,000 pieces of string. More than 300 tons of plasitc produced every year and only 10% recycled, and estimated that as much as 7 million tons of plastic are added to waterways each year.

2. Since the sperm whale has a large geographic range, they can be lingering influenced by every oil spill accident. Even we try a lot to prevent the oil spill, it happens more or less. Therefore, the oil spill also a major threat to the sperm whale.

March 24, 1989	The oil tanker Exxon Valdez hits Prince William Sound's Bligh Reef in Alaska.
1991	The Gulf War oil spill is estimated to be the largest oil spill in history The oil damaged the ecosystem in the Persian Gulf, around Kuwait and Iraq.
February 15, 1996	The oil tanker MV Sea Empress hits rocks while entering the Cleddau Estuary in Wales
December 12, 1999	The oil tanker MV Erika sinks off the coast of France after a heavy storm.
November 19, 2002	The oil tanker Prestige sinks off the coast of Spain after being damaged in a storm
July, 2006	Up to 30,000 tonnes of oil leaked into the Mediterranean
December 7, 2007	The MT Hebei Spirit leaked around 10,800 tonnes of oil into South Korea's Yellow Sea
March 11, 2009	Around 230 tonnes of fuel oil and 620 tonnes of ammonium nitrate leaked into the ocean north of Moreton Bay in Queensland after unsecured cargo on the Pacific Adventurer shifted during a cyclone
August 21, 2009	Up to 30,000 tonnes of oil spilled into the Timor Sea off the north-west Australian coast after the West Atlas oil rig began leaking oil and gas.
April 3, 2010	The bulk coal carrier ShenNeng 1 runs aground east of Rockhampton in Central Queensland. Around three to four tonnes of fuel oil leaked into the ocean and around three kilometres of the Great Barrier Reef was severely damaged.
April 20, 2010	A massive explosion rips through Deepwater Horizon oil rig off the United States coast

3. Whale ship strike is not only a disaster of people but also the whale. When ship strike happens, it will cause the loss for human, however, the whale also gets hurts and danger in life. As long as ships under operation, it will threat the sperm whale's life

https://www.theinertia.com/environment/13-sperm-whales-found-dead-with-stomachs-full-of-plastic-trash
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2018/11/dead-sperm-whale-filled-with-plastic-trash-indonesia/
https://marinesanctuary.org/blog/plastic-pollution-ocean-conservation-challenge/?gclid=Cj0KCQiA_4jgBRDhARIsADezXciudrA1-Esizvr8Lrr5lwn-qXk0dcyVr-ow-bsDUqcULqNw9j4Jx3YaAqjuEALw_wcB

https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/41755/10554884#conservation-actions

https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/05/100521-science-environment-gulf-mexico-oil-spill-sperm-whales/
https://www.whalefacts.org/are-sperm-whales-endangered/
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2010-05-03/timeline-20-years-of-major-oil-spills/419898
https://www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov/shipstrike/news/shipstrike03.pdf