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Whale Sightings Tech: CA App Could Save BC Whales
2 Jun
Summary
- California uses thermal cameras and a public app to track whale activity.
- B.C. has land-based cameras but lacks ferry-mounted systems for better detection.
- A collaborative approach could significantly reduce fatal whale-vessel strikes.
Marine researchers in British Columbia are exploring a collaborative whale-sighting strategy from California's San Francisco Bay. This approach integrates advanced thermal imaging cameras, known as WhaleSpotter cameras, with a public-facing app to monitor whale activity day and night. Scientists, ferry operators, and the public contribute to tracking, aiming to prevent devastating whale-vessel strikes.
California's system, employed on ferry vessels and land, allows for real-time tracking and pattern analysis to adjust shipping routes. While B.C. has some land-based WhaleSpotter cameras, experts advocate for expanding this technology to ferry routes, citing "humpback highways" as critical areas. B.C. Ferries has indicated a review of detection devices for its northern route, following a fatal strike last fall.
This initiative highlights a growing concern over increased ship traffic and climate change-induced whale migration pattern shifts. In San Francisco Bay, 40 percent of 21 whale deaths last year were linked to ship strikes. Experts emphasize that addressing vessel strikes requires cross-border collaboration and widespread data sharing among agencies, calling it a global problem demanding immediate action.
