New App for Conservation Proves to be a Whale of a Time
By Anya Nygaard
How do you cheer up a blue whale? You could start by collaborating with conservation efforts aimed at saving whales one at a time.
Catching a glimpse of the largest organisms on Earth is an awe-inspiring experience, which makes whale-watching a captivating activity for tourists and locals alike. Unfortunately, humans have been the primary cause of global whale population decline for the past several hundred years. Ship strikes are harmful collisions between whales and passing boats, and they remain one of the largest threats to whales.
Finding ways to contribute to the conservation of whales can be challenging, but the WhaleReport Alert System is an initiative that collaborates with the public to monitor whales and prevent these harmful collisions. By working together, we can make a difference and help protect these magnificent creatures.
Whale, Hello There
The Ocean Wise Sightings Network, a trusted program connecting citizen scientists, made it their goal to create the first mitigation tool reliant on real-time sightings. Citizen scientists are observant members of the public who help science project managers collect vital data. Now, the WhaleReport Alert System, or WRAS, has been fashioned into a website and a mobile app anyone can download.
When a whale is spotted, citizen scientists can report the location and time of their whale sightings through WRAS. This information can then be used by fishers and mariners to steer clear of the area, and it can even help scientists track whales’ migration patterns and population.
Spouting the Facts
For their research, Jessica Scott and her team of conservation scientists from the Ocean Wise Conservation Association looked deeper into the app’s functions. The WhaleReport Alert System app provides species identification services and a map of marine mammal guidelines and regulations.
By including a scale of certainty to select from, it also allows citizen scientists to reflect varying degrees of confidence in their reports. A citizen scientist who declares that she is certain of the details included in her report will automatically see the information updated in the app. Meanwhile, those who indicate anything else will receive an automated email within two weeks with a few simple clarifying questions.
On the other end of the system, mariners approaching a ten-nautical mile radius will receive a text from the WRAS app to warn them that whales could be nearby. They can then go into the app and view the reported information, including the number of whales and the direction they’re going. From there, mariners will decide what to do. Usually, just slowing down is enough to avoid a ship strike. As a bonus, this lowers noise pollution, so the marine ecosystem can exist peacefully.
If you’ve been to sea, you may know that cell connection starts to get fishy. To combat this, the app has been continuously updated to improve its functionality for users and reporters in areas with low cell connectivity.
To display only relevant updates, the WhaleReport Alert System doesn’t notify the mariners after a certain amount of time has passed from the primary sighting. Depending on the type of whale sighted and taking into consideration the speed and surfacing patterns of different species, the alert to mariners will usually last for three hours.
Say It, Don’t Spray It
Scott and her team came up with ways to quantify the app’s usage and benefits. They sent out a survey to mariners and fishers for them to fill out at the end of their shifts. Those who responded said that they use the WRAS app most of the time they’re out sailing. Even better, most replied that they receive alerts when they’re on the water. This means that during most of their trips to sea, the majority of these mariners sailed within ten nautical miles of a reported whale sighting and managed to remain safe.
In response to these alerts, many chose to increase caution and decrease speed, and some even changed course. Although the number of whales saved by this system cannot be easily quantified, this has led to heightened caution across the board in terms of vessel operation around whale sightings. Thus, this system directly protects marine mammals from lethal ship strikes.
So far, it looks like the spatial footprint of the new WRAS app has been limited. A staggering majority of users are off the coast of British Columbia and the state of Washington, and most whales sighted were either humpbacks, blue, gray, or right whales. Scott included that all of these species are currently endangered or under special concern.
However, these curious creatures have a taste for adventure, and they migrate around the globe. So, it seems, do humans. Going forward, there are current efforts to implement WRAS as the premier global sighting network, and the next goal is to see WRAS utilized by the crews of marine vessels around the world.
Just Keep Swimming
Overall, the efforts made through WRAS have helped to prevent ship strikes, mitigating the harm done to whales. This conservation effort provides a place for citizen scientists to make a difference in the lives of endangered species.
Before you take your next excursion to the coast, be sure to download the WhaleReport Alert System. When you catch sight of one of these playful giants, it means they’re saying thank you.
References
Scott, Jessica L., et al. “The WhaleReport Alert System: Mitigating threats to whales with citizen science.” Biological Conservation, vol. 289, no. 110422, Jan. 2024, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2023.110422.
