Space data protect whales from ships
Space data protect whales from ships
May 12, 2015
by EarthSky in » Earth, Science Wire
Scientists announced this week (May 11, 2015) that they’ve developed a new tool to help decrease whale mortality due to collisions with shipping and fishing gear.
WhaleWatch – funded by NASA and set to be released this year by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) – will show for each month the most likely locations of blue, humpback, fin, and gray whales along the west coast of the United States and Canada, based on current environmental conditions detected by satellites. It’ll also predict the movements of blue whales for any given day.
The endangered whales migrate up and down the California coast – along with heavy fishing and shipping traffic to and from the major ports of Los Angeles and San Francisco. Massive vessels navigating through their feeding areas near the ports increase the chances that a whale will be injured or killed by a collision, while becoming entangled in fishing gear can hamper a whale’s ability to feed or swim to the surface to breathe.
The new WhaleWatch tool will be used to address conflicts between humans and whales. It was designed using tag data and satellite observations. WhaleWatch will show for each month the most likely locations of whales based on current environmental conditions detected by satellites. In addition, WhaleWatch has a daily product that will predict the movements of blue whales for any given day.
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