New Projects Aim to Shield B.C. Whales from Ship Collisions and Noise
Increasing vessel strikes and noise are killing whales in British Columbia, prompting two local groups to deploy monitoring and detection technologies to protect the animals.
Whale fatalities in British Columbia have risen as vessels collide with or disturb the animals, with recent footage showing a personal watercraft striking a grey whale and several humpback whales hit by ferries and tour boats. Researchers at Simon Fraser University have launched HALLO, a project that monitors whale locations and vessel movements in the Salish Sea, sending instant alerts to ships through the Ocean Wise Whale Alert System to encourage speed reductions or course changes.
About a hundred citizen volunteers assist by reporting sightings around Saturna, Pender and Mayne Islands. The W̱SÁNEĆ Marine Guardians, an Indigenous conservation group, analyze underwater recordings and traditional knowledge to advocate for year-round vessel-slow zones, building on a seasonal slowdown already in place for 2026. Federal authorities have recently expanded the safe-distance buffer around southern resident killer whales from 200 to 1,000 metres.
In parallel, Glenn Jones of Reach Technologies Inc. is adapting a defence-grade multispectral camera to detect whales from 700 to 1,000 metres, hoping commercial ships will adopt the system to avoid future strikes. Together, these initiatives seek to reduce both physical collisions and acoustic disruption that threaten the region’s critically endangered orcas and other whale species.
Why it matters
Whale deaths threaten biodiversity and highlight the need for better marine traffic management.
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