- Whale AlertReducing lethal whale ship-strikes worldwide.Whale Alert is a growing network of non-profit institutions, government agencies, shipping and technology companies focused on reducing lethal ship strikes of whales.You can help too!
- Ship strikes a leading cause of Whale mortality.Large whales are vulnerable to collisions with all vessel types, sizes, and classes throughout the world's oceans. In California, ship strikes of gray whales are the most commonly reported followed by fin, blue, humpback, and sperm whales. When large vessels such as container ships are involved, the ships crew may be unaware a strike has occurred. As such, the number of ship strikes to whales is likely under reported.
Blue WhalesMORTALITY FROM SHIP STRIKES HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED AS A THREAT TO POPULATION RECOVERY OF VULNERABLE WHALE SPECIES.
- NetworkThe Whale Alert network is comprised of regional efforts on the East and West coasts of the United States (and beyond) to reduce ship strikes and other human activities that threaten species recovery. Network members utilize various areas of expertise including technology, research, outreach, and education to increase the effectiveness of whale strike preventive measures.
Whale Alert - West CoastThe West Coast collaboration was conceived by the five national marine sanctuaries of the West Coast, Conserve.IO, and Point Blue Conservation Science, in coordination with the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), to reduce the number of ship collisions with whales. West Coast national marine sanctuaries encompass 12,843 square miles of marine protected areas around the Channel Islands, Cordell Bank, Gulf of the Farallones, Monterey Bay and Olympic Coast. Sanctuaries use a multi-pronged approach to reducing the risk of whale ship strikes and have committed to activities in research and monitoring, policy and management collaborations, and education and outreach. To learn about new and continuing initiatives led by West Coast sanctuaries and partners, visit the sanctuary website dedicated to reducing ship strike risk to whales. Sanctuaries are host to numerous threatened and endangered whale species such as blue, humpback, fin, sperm, and western North Pacific gray whales among others. These migratory whales rely on the highly productive waters located in the West Coast sanctuaries supplied by the California Current System.
NOAA Stellwagen National Marine Sanctuary was the originating sanctuary of the Whale Alert project. It uniquely leverages acoustic technology to help detect the presence of right whales in the Boston Channel and uses the Whale Alert platform to alert commercial shippers.The sanctuary hosts some of the largest aggregations of endangered whales to occur along the eastern seaboard of the United States.
The North Atlantic Right Whale Sighting Survey (NARWSS) is a NOAA Fisheries program which locates and records the seasonal distribution of North Atlantic right whales off the northeastern coast of the United States. Surveys are conducted aboard a NOAA Twin Otter aircraft year-round that flies systematic track lines within eleven primary survey blocks including Cashes Ledge, Franklin Basin, Georges Basin, Georges Shoal, Great South Channel (SCOPEX North and South), Howell Swell, Jeffreys Ledge, Jordan Basin, Lindenkohl Basin and Stellwagen Bank.
The Cornell Lab - BRPThe Bioacoustics Research Program (BRP) is a unit within the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. BRP develops digital recording equipment, computer software, and algorithms that are used by scientists around the world to study animal communication and to monitor the health of wildlife populations. BRP is also pioneering new techniques for censusing and tracking wildlife with arrays of microphones placed in natural environments around the globe.
The critically endangered North Atlantic right whale is one of the rarest whale species in the world. Once heavily hunted, the North Atlantic right whale has not recovered from the pressure of historic whaling. Around 500 of these whales remain.Vulnerable to vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing gear, this species suffers mortality from human activities. Its recovery is threatened by low reproduction, habitat loss, disease and environmental contaminants. Solutions to reduce human impact on right whales exist, but implementation remains a challenge.
The Marine Mammal Commission is an independent agency of the U.S. Government, established under Title II of the Act to provide independent oversight of the marine mammal conservation policies and programs being carried out by federal regulatory agencies. Among its many duties, it maintains objective overview of domestic and international activities by federal agencies affecting marine mammals and provides informed and objective advice to the executive and legislative branches of the federal government on measures needed to achieve the policies and provisions of the Marine Mammal Protection Act.The MMC is both a financial and domain expertise supporter of the Whale Alert project.
The Whale Trail is a series of sites around the Northwest where the public may view orcas, other whales, and marine mammals from shore.The Whale Trail's mission is to inspire appreciation and stewardship of whales and our marine environment by establishing a network of viewing sites along the whales’ trails through Puget Sound and the coastal waters of the Pacific Northwest.
The Whale Trail utilizes the Whale Alert platform to provide its community a means to collect whale observations and to contribute data to the Whale Alert project at large.
Tidal Energy is teaming up with scientists to better understand the potential impact of tidal turbine power generators on local marine life, including whales and other marine mammals.The group is utilizing the Whale Alert platform to survey and track the movements of marine mammals in the proposed ares of development and will be using the platform to monitor the environment on an on-going basis.
Channel Island Cetacean Research UnitAt Channel Islands Cetacean Research Unit (CICRU) we pride ourselves in the daily contribution to cetacean research and understanding the health of the oceans. CICRU is a bio-surveillance research group analyzing the health of the ocean through the health of cetaceans. We believe in "One Ocean, One Health."
Green MarineADVANCING ENVIRONMENTAL EXCELLENCEGreen Marine is an environmental certification program for the North American marine industry.
It is a voluntary, transparent and inclusive initiative that addresses key environmental issues through its 12 performance indicators. Participants are shipowners, ports, terminals, Seaway corporations and shipyards. The cornerstone of the Green Marine initiative is its far-reaching environmental program, which makes it possible for any marine company operating in Canada or the U.S. to reduce its environmental footprint by undertaking concrete and measurable actions.
To receive their certification, participants must benchmark their annual environmental performance through the program’s exhaustive self-evaluation guides, have their results verified by an accredited external verifier and agree to publication of their individual results.
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