Advertisement

Early warning system in the works to protect blue whales from ships: DFO

Early warning system in the works to protect blue whales from ships: DFO

A system that could help keep blue whales safe from collisions with ships has been unveiled in the U.S. — and Canadian researchers say they're working on a similar program.

The U.S. system, called WhaleWatch, combines data from tagged whales with current ocean conditions to predict where the mammals are heading next.

Experts use that information to create maps of so-called whale "hotspots" from California to Washington state. The charts are used to warn vessels of mammals in their path.

John Ford, a whale research scientist with Fisheries and Oceans Canada, said the department is working on a similar early warning system to keep whales safe in B.C. waters.

Instead of using information from tagged whales, Canadian researchers plan to use real-time acoustic monitoring to track whales' travel patterns.

"We're basically doing the same kind of thing [as the States], but they've got a bit of a head start," Ford said.

"We'd have an early alert system using a network of hydrophones. They can zero in on the whale that's vocalizing, and then pass that information on to shipping to say, 'There's whales here' … and then [ships] can go around," he added.

Blue whales pass Vancouver Island during the spring and fall months when they migrate from California to Alaska. It's rare to spot one of the giant mammals, but Ford said 2015 was a "good year" with 10 sightings.

Collisions with ships have been one of the species' primary threats since commercial whaling ended in the 1960s.

He said so-called "ship strikes" are relatively rare in B.C., but shipping lanes do intersect with whales' migration routes.

The Juan de Fuca strait, one of the busiest corridors off the West Coast, is particularly risky because of the high density of whales and ships passing through.

Ford said the Canadian early warning system would be used to protect all whales in B.C. waters — fins, humpbacks, blues and killer whales.

"These animals are vulnerable ... as whale populations are increasing and numbers of ships are increasing, [ship strikes] are more and more common," he said. "It's important that we work on this."