The fingerlike fjords, sheltered bays and inner seas of the Patagonian Pacific coast off Chile are important summer feeding grounds for blue whales. Nutrient-rich fresh water from the steeply sided valleys mixes with the ocean, creating dense patches of krill -- tiny crustaceans that blue whales scoop up by the million with their massive jaws.

The International Whaling Commission has identified the region as one of 12 with at-risk populations of whales. Since 2007, the commission has logged at least 1,200 collisions between ships and whales globally. However, for every accident observed and reported there will be many others completely unnoticed.

Understanding just how many whales are killed by ships and what that means for their conservation is challenging, but some researchers think that fatal encounters may explain why blue whale numbers haven't fully recovered from decimation by commercial whaling.

"People don't realize how much of a global problem it is. These charismatic animals -- everyone loves whales -- they've actually become the ocean's roadkill," said Susannah Buchan, an oceanographer at the University of Concepción in Chile.

The fingerlike fjords, sheltered bays and inner seas of the Patagonian Pacific coast off Chile are important summer feeding grounds for blue whales. Nutrient-rich fresh water from the steeply sided valleys mixes with the ocean, creating dense patches of krill -- tiny crustaceans that blue whales scoop up by the million with their massive jaws.

The International Whaling Commission has identified the region as one of 12 with at-risk populations of whales. Since 2007, the commission has logged at least 1,200 collisions between ships and whales globally. However, for every accident observed and reported there will be many others completely unnoticed.

Understanding just how many whales are killed by ships and what that means for their conservation is challenging, but some researchers think that fatal encounters may explain why blue whale numbers haven't fully recovered from decimation by commercial whaling.

"People don't realize how much of a global problem it is. These charismatic animals -- everyone loves whales -- they've actually become the ocean's roadkill," said Susannah Buchan, an oceanographer at the University of Concepción in Chile.