New AI System Launches to Curb Whale-Boat Collisions

Ferries, cargo ships, and tankers cut through choppy waters in the San Francisco Bay on Tuesday as a whale surfaced nearby, its spout barely visible against the whitecaps. Until now, whales could easily go unnoticed by mariners, the AP reports, but an AI-powered detection network launched this week is designed to track them day and night. The system, called WhaleSpotter, scans the bay around the clock for whale blows and heat signatures up to 2 nautical miles away, alerting mariners to slow down or reroute when whales are nearby.

"They'll be able to make adjustments way before they get anywhere close," said Thomas Hall, director of operations for San Francisco Bay Ferry. "It will also allow us to track data over time and see where the whales are camping out so we can adjust our routes during whale season to avoid those areas completely." There's been an alarming rise in gray whale deaths in the bay. Last year, 21 dead gray whales were found in the wider Bay Area—the highest number in 25 years, according to the Marine Mammal Center—with at least 40% killed by ship strikes. At least 10 more have died in the Bay Area so far this year. Scientists say those figures likely underestimate the true toll as many whale carcasses sink or are swept back out to sea before they are ever found or reported.

Gray whales have long migrated along the California coast on their 12,000-mile journey between breeding lagoons in Mexico and feeding grounds in the Arctic. But instead of passing offshore, increasing numbers are diverting into San Francisco Bay and lingering for days or even weeks in the crowded estuary—a shift scientists increasingly link to climate change. Rising temperatures and shifts in Arctic sea ice are disrupting the food web gray whales rely on during summer months, according to a 2023 study in Science, leaving many malnourished during migration. Many whales now concentrate in a high-traffic corridor between Angel Island, Alcatraz, and Treasure Island, overlapping ferry routes and shipping lanes. "It's the worst place possible in terms of all the ship traffic," said Rachel Rhodes, who led the initiative, adding that there have been so many collisions that teams "ran out of places to even land dead whales." The AP's full story can be found here.