According to international environmental engineering and consulting firm Lynker, the construction and operations of Puerto Barú will increase the likelihood of collisions between vessels and the humpback whale habitat. The habitat, which extends from areas east of Boca Brava to just west of the Boca Brava strait, is located east of the planned Puerto Barú development in the middle of a vast protected mangrove forest. 

Ships entering and leaving the port would be forced to cross the habitat to enter the navigation channel, significantly raising the prospect of ship-whale incidents.  

“Humpback whales migrating from North America to Panama belong to the Central America Distinct Population Segment (DPS), one of the most endangered populations around the word, which is not still recovered from the commercial whaling.” Adds Dr. Betzi Perez Ortega, a Panamanian marine scientist who has studied these whales for the last decade.  

Lynker estimates that even with the application of mitigation measures, such as establishing a traffic separation scheme (TSS) or implementing speed limitations, the probability of ship-whale strikes would not be reduced due to the location of the port. 

To save humpbacks from extinction, the international community enacted a final moratorium on commercial whaling in 1985. Humpbacks migrate thousands of miles between seasons. 

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), whales travel in both shallow, warm waters as well as in the cold depths of the ocean. There are four humpback populations in the North Pacific, two in the North Atlantic, and seven in the Southern Hemisphere.

In April 2021, the US Department of Commerce and the NOAA issued a rule to protect endangered whales from ship strikes, oil spills and fishing gear. The ruling made 116,098 square nautical miles of the Pacific Ocean, from Mexico to Washington State, a critical habitat for endangered humpback whales. 

“Vessel strikes are the number one threat to humpback whales today and according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the risk is much higher in coastal areas with heavier ship traffic. While many tough decisions have been made across the world to protect endangered species like humpback whales, this port in Panama has the potential to take us backwards,” said Guido Berguido, Biologist and Director of Adopta Bosque. “Independent evidence about the proposed site of Puerto Barú shows that the port is likely to pose a clear threat to humpback populations.”  

“There has been extensive collaboration between countries to protect humpback whales over the last few decades. And against the odds, it’s been working. Proposed projects like Puerto Barú undo much of the work to protect endangered species, which will impact marine life both in Panama and in the United States. We must do all we can to ensure that humpback whales and other endangered species do not end up on the brink of extinction ever again.” 

In addition to humpback whales, the protected mangroves are home to critically endangered species, such as the black-crowned central American squirrel monkey and hawksbill sea turtles, the most endangered sea turtle species in the world. Both species are decreasing in population, prompting countries and organizations to take measures to stop them from going extinct.

The area is also home to bottlenose dolphins, birds, monkeys, iguanas, fish, crustaceans and mollusks. Data also shows that large populations of humpback whales, Bryde’s whales, critically endangered Pacific smalltail sharks (Carcharhinus cerdale), inhabit the Gulf of Chiriquí, including in areas near the proposed navigation channel of the Puerto Barú project. There have also been numerous sightings of the endangered green sea turtle nearby. 

About Puerto Barú

The controversial Puerto Barú project is a private, multipurpose port development in one of the most extensive and healthiest mangrove forests in Central America, 12 miles away from David City, on the Panamanian Pacific Coast. This area is home to 25% of all Panama’s mangroves. 

This project will operate in the western region, close to an area that is home to a quarter of the mangroves in Panama. The project crosses the Mangroves of David, which were declared a protected area by the Municipal Council of the District of David through Agreement No. 21 of June 6, 2007. 

As part of the Puerto Barú project, developers are planning to build a main port area, a tank area for liquid goods such as palm oil, gasoline, diesel, fuel oil, jet fuel, a tourist and marine zone, and a residential development.

The environmentally protected area would be under threat by the construction and running of the port. 

While the port itself is to be located on private land, it is the activity from open sea to the port which risks causing lasting damage to the delicate ecosystem. For ships to enter and leave the port, a navigation channel will have to be built. The channel will go from the North Pacific Ocean, following Boca Brava, passing through Isla de Muertos to the Chiriquí Nuevo River.

In September 2024, a group of organizations composed of conservation professionals, scientists, lawyers, and biologists, filed a lawsuit with the Supreme Court of Justice to declare null and void the Resolution that approved the developer’s Environmental Impact Study.

The group is not against development and wants to see a port built in the province of Chiriquí. That is why the group is calling for other suitable locations for the port to be considered, where protected mangroves and marine life will not be impacted.