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NOAA (including the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary and National Marine Fisheries Service) and the U.S. Coast Guard are tracking the issue closely and have in place a short term working plan for taking precautionary actions and being prepared to respond in the event of a ship strike. Guiding agency actions is multi-agency plan that was initially developed in 2008 by the Advisory Council's Subcommittee on Large Cetaceans and Shipping, and subsequently endorsed by the full Sanctuary Advisory Council on May 30, 2008: Prevention and Emergency Response Plan for Reducing Ship Strikes on Blue Whales and Other Large Cetaceans in the Santa Barbara Channel and Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. The plan is designed for use by NOAA and the U.S. Coast Guard to guide actions aimed at reducing ship strike risks, and responding to whale strandings. The plan outlines a series of agency actions to: track large cetaceans in the Santa Barbara Channel; implement precautionary actions to reduce the threat of ship strikes; and respond to stranded whales. Detailed throughout the plan are agency resources and contact persons for the Santa Barbara Channel region.

The agency actions are outlined under three scenarios: 1) the presence of large, ESA-listed cetaceans in the Channel; 2) high risk conditions in which aggregations of such species are observed within or adjacent to the Santa Barbara Channel shipping lanes; and 3) in the event of a stranded whale. As of 2008, the prevention and response plan calls for the U.S. Coast Guard issuance of a Local Notice to Mariners containing a NOAA recommendation that ships 300 gross registered tons or more voluntarily travel at speeds not in excess of ten knots during high risk conditions. CINMS’s role in implementing the plan includes, but is not limited to: serving as an overall liaison between the U.S. Coast Guard, NOAA Fisheries, and other involved organizations; collecting (via vessel and aircraft) and disseminating whale location data; analyzing large ship traffic and ship speeds in the Channel; leading efforts to develop education and outreach to the shipping industry; and developing an ecosystem-based whale research and monitoring plan. The prevention and response plan will be revised as needed in future years.