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$115 million per year to save perhaps two whales per year. They're not real sure on the actual number because they don't know the number being struck now. We're pretty sure about the $115 millions because we can calculate the economic costs of slowing the ships. this strikes me as another easily known cost against an unknown benefit. They're guessing at the numbers struck and killed. Their not guessing at how much it's going to cost to slow down.
They might consider investing some effort in determining why the population is not growing; at two deaths per year it's not ships causing the problem.
With the kind of money lost that they're talking about I'm wondering if each of the three hundred whales might be tagged, fitted with an AIS transponder for far less money, and far greater coverage, and then mariners could slow down or take evasive action as they would in any other collision avoidance situation.
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