Newly Launched AI-Enabled Technology Could Help Save Whale Lives

SAN FRANCISCO — On the heels of a ship strike killing Fran, the most photographed whale in California, Whale Safe, an artificial intelligence system, will be deployed off the San Francisco coastline to help detect endangered whale presence and track ship speeds to provide data to the shipping industry, public, and government to reduce preventable whale deaths, The Marine Mammal Center and The Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory announced in a joint news release last week.

According to officials with The Marine Mammal Center, the technology-based mapping and analysis system should help prevent whale-ship collisions in the San Francisco Bay Area Region.

“This extension of the Whale Safe platform, from its start in southern California, is being launched through the generous support of Marc and Lynne Benioff,” the release said, citing the death of Fran as the latest example of why Whale Safe is needed off the Northern California Coast.

“Whale-vessel collisions are a global concern, so when addressing the problem and building the Whale Safe system we wanted it to be a blueprint to allow for replication and expansion into other regions,” Callie Steffen, Whale Safe project lead at the Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory, said. “We are excited to expand the technology and expertise to the San Francisco Bay region where ship collisions are of high concern for endangered whales.”

The shipping industry and the government aren’t the only ones who can use Whale Safe technology, the general public can go online and in near-real time, monitor ship speeds and whale presence in Northern California’s coastal waters.

Kathi George, Director of Field Operations & Response for The Marine Mammal Center said the best way to avoid ship strikes for all whales is to “slow vessels down and be whale aware.” “I’m thrilled that The Marine Mammal Center partnered with the Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory to deploy a solution to the problem of vessel strikes that supports both of those actions and complements existing efforts to protect whales,” she said.

In addition to providing an immediate benefit for monitoring ship speeds, the data will also be saved and analyzed by the Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory and The Marine Mammal Center to help inform additional preventative safety recommendations, recommendations that might have made a difference for Fran and the 43 other whales found stranded on the West Coast so far this year.

Also Read: Beloved Whale 'Fran' Killed Off Coast Near Half Moon Bay

An ongoing unusual mortality event is leading to an increase in whale strandings, not just in the San Francisco Bay Area, but all up and down the West Coast, according to recent information obtained by Patch.

NOAA Fisheries is reporting an increase in whale strandings over the past three years and that has led to its declaration of an unusual mortality event, or UME.

“Under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, an unusual mortality event is defined as ‘a stranding that is unexpected; involves a significant die-off of any marine mammal population; and demands immediate response,’” Justin Greenman, NOAA’s assistant stranding network coordinator for the West Coast Region, explained.

According to Greenman, seven gray whales have been found stranded in the San Francisco Bay Area so far this year as compared to the normal average of one to two strandings a year.

“All of the animals were dead when found,” Greenman told Patch in August, adding that the “vast majority of whale strandings worldwide” don’t involve live stranded animals.

“As a general rule most live stranded animals are humanely euthanized,” he said.

According to the news release, more than 50 percent of all container ship traffic coming to and from the United States passes through West Coast ports. Blue, fin, humpback, and gray whales are vulnerable to ship strikes as they migrate and feed in areas that overlap shipping lanes and routes. Scientists estimate that over 80 endangered whales are killed annually by ship strikes off the U.S. West Coast, a number that has been growing over the last decade.

Dr. Jeff Boehm, Chief External Relations Officer of The Marine Mammal Center said that Whale Safe utilizes best-in-class technology with best-practice conservation strategies to create a solution to reduce risk to whales.

“This is where tech meets Mother Nature for the benefit of marine life,” he said. “I am incredibly grateful to Marc and Lynne Benioff. Whales and ships must coexist in an increasingly busy ocean. Whale Safe San Francisco provides data insights to empower decisions that protect whales while supporting efficient maritime commerce.”

While the number of known whale deaths from ship strikes on the West Coast has been growing over the last decade, the ones seen are only a fraction of the total number that die each year. According to researcher John Calambokidis, only about 5 percent of whale mortalities are documented on the beach, so the actual number of dead whales is much higher than the number observed and recorded.

“Protecting endangered species and sanctuary resources is a priority issue for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries,” Jennifer Stock, Greater Farallones and Cordell Bank national marine sanctuaries media liaison said. “We have been doing a lot in regards to working to reduce the chances of ship strikes with large whales in our area.”

The hope is that Whale Safe can decrease the number of whale strikes.

How Whale Safe Works

According to its website, Whale Safe utilizes an AI-enabled acoustic monitoring system, big data models and direct whale sightings recorded by trained observers and citizen scientists. The three data streams are validated, compiled and disseminated in an easily interpreted “Whale Presence Rating” ranging from low to very high whale activity. Shipping report cards are created to display a ship or company’s cooperation with voluntary vessel speed reduction zones implemented by NOAA, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Coast Guard. This gives the captains of large vessels the data they need to know when to slow down, which is the most effective measure to drastically reduce the number of deadly ship strikes.

Whale Safe has been deployed in the Santa Barbara channel since 2020, the news release said. In creating a “school zone for whales” where vessel speeds have been reduced, major shipping companies have started implementing the data and slowing down while in transit. When ships slow down, the risk of collision and fatality decreases dramatically. Whale Safe Santa Barbara and the new San Francisco expansion will show the efficacy of this tool for other locations where whales are at risk of collision with ships such as in San Diego, key ports along the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, and international sites such as Sri Lanka, Chile, Greece and the Canary Islands, to name a few.

“We look forward to the day that ‘whale safe’ becomes as ubiquitous as ‘fair trade.’ We believe consumers care about having retailers transport their products with shipping companies who achieve our shared conservation goal of ensuring whale safe waters,” Boehm said.

Whale Safe San Francisco will be led by the Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory and The Marine Mammal Center, along with leading scientists from Cascadia Research Collective and Point Blue Conservation Science. The tool was developed in collaboration with leading scientists from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, the University of California Santa Cruz, University of Washington, Conserve. iO, and NOAA’s Southwest Fisheries Science Center.

“Whales are animals of such great beauty, ecological importance, and antiquity. They do not deserve to become roadkill at sea. This is an avoidable problem. We can’t any longer be passive observers of endangered whales washing ashore along San Francisco’s beaches. Whale Safe is an exciting coming together of marine scientists, technologists, conservation organizations, business leaders and government partners to do something about this issue,” Dr. Douglas McCauley, Director of the Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory, said.

For more information, visit The Marine Mammal Center and The Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory online.

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