A new study suggests that increased ship traffic in the Arctic, as ice there melts due to climate change, could disturb marine mammal species. In their assessment of 80 subpopulations living along the Northwest Passage and Russia’s Northern Sea Route, 42 are likely to be affected by a greater number of commercial ships, researchers found. The team suggests that mitigation measures, such as those employed in other parts of the world to protect North Atlantic right whales, could be effective.

Mongabay