Meet the BC residents hosting whale detection devices on their properties
People living on B.C.’s coast are offering their private properties to host whale detection technology, in hopes of protecting the marine mammals.
Suzette Alvarez and Marshall Farris own a seaside property near Halfmoon Bay on the Sunshine Coast, where a live camera was installed beneath the deck of their home in May 2024.
The camera pointed towards the Malaspina Strait, and a hydrophone was dropped into the ocean 20 meters deep, capturing underwater noises from ships and animals.
“These animals are priceless. They’re magnificent… and we need to do everything we can to protect them,” Alvarez said.
In recent weeks, three humpback whales have been killedAnd one was injured after colliding with a ship off the coast of BC.
According to scientists, Alvarez is one of a group of BC residents using technology that could help locate and potentially protect whales.
The Raincoast Conservation Foundation, a non-profit team of conservationists and scientists, operates and collects data from the cameras and hydrophones.
According to Foundation scientist Valeria Vergara, this technology is the first of its kind in the region.
Vergara said, “It’s something that’s very much needed there…this area is really acoustically under-sampled.”
His research focuses on monitoring the presence of threatened marine mammal species by tracking their sounds and how noise levels from boats and other human activities impact them.
“Underwater noise has become a real issue in the last few decades,” he said. “Noise propagates very well in water and about four to five times faster than in air.”
Two different homeowners in BC are doing their part to help protect marine mammals. As Alana Kelly reports, they’re hosting various pieces of technology that locate animals without disturbing them.
For humpback whales and orcas, sound is how they communicate with each other and find prey.
“Hearing a humpback singing and then suddenly having that song disappear with the noise of the boat is a good way to explain to the general public and policy makers how serious the situation is,” Vergara said.
According to Vergara, southern resident killer whales are endangered, and noise pollution plays a big role.
“Noise pollution along with pollutants and reduced availability of prey are the three main reasons for their reduced ability to recover,” he said.
Thermal camera detects whale blows
Alvarez isn’t the only one trying to do her part.
Chris Roper lives on Pender Island and offered a space on his property to host an infrared thermal camera called WhaleSpotter.
“There remains a lot of work to do to co-exist with extraordinary amounts of shipping and marine mammals,” Roper said.
The cameras belong to the W̱SÁNEĆ Marine Conservationists who protect Southern Resident killer whales.
Using technology and cameras, Guardians is monitoring and advocating for animals in the Salish Sea.
Daniel Zitterbart, chief scientist at WhaleSpotter, explains how cameras and artificial intelligence help protect whales by detecting when a whale is present.
The thermal camera detects the temperature difference in the whale’s shock in real time, and a person confirms the alert within 30 seconds to a minute. Only verified information is sent back to the operator.
“Right now in British Columbia, we have over 10 cameras distributed,” Zitterbart said.
“We now have a science-backed solution that is capable of providing a very high level of protection and can be done for all types of mammals,” he said.
Roper’s property on Pender Harbor is located just above a whale sanctuary where vessels are prohibited from entering during specific times of the year.
The location is also a high-traffic area for container ships, large ships and yachts.
“There’s really noise going on here, and that’s evident from the hydrophones and the noise spectrum coming from the hydrophones,” Roper said.
Detection can be used to enforce speed limits
Harold Yurk, a scientist with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, said these devices are all helpful tools to individual witnesses as well.
“Technology is one of those tools that can be used, but it’s not like a magic wand,” Yurk said. “It’s a combination of all of them.”
He suggests that the technology could be used to impose speed limits in place of 10 to 12 knots when animals are detected.
“This will, at a minimum, reduce the risk of a whale being killed when it hits a boat,” Yurk said.
Alvarez rents out his Sunshine Coast property for people to visit, and he hopes that as people are able to see and hear the whales, they will continue to care for them.
“It helps you feel like they’re part of you, part of your ecosystem, part of what you want to preserve,” Alvarez said.
