Whale Alert
By Barbara A. Schmitz
It’s a simple concept — Researchers can’t be everywhere, so citizens can help by reporting what they see. And in this case, what citizen pilots see.
And, of course, there’s an app for that: Whale Alert.
Not only does the app help scientists learn about numbers and locations of whales, but it also helps to save whales by reducing ship strikes, one of its major killers.
Pilot Virgil Zetterlind co-founded Conserve.IO and created the Whale Alert, a free wireless environmental monitoring app. Originally created for the Pacific Northwest, it is now used globally, including in Canada and Europe.
Virgil spoke at a Tuesday forum encouraging pilots to download the app. Whale Alert is a great way for pilots to contribute to marine research — and help protect marine wildlife — while they fly.
Keeping ships away from whales is vital for whale safety. (For every whale strike detected, estimates are that 20 strikes go undetected.) But it also lets ships know to stay away for other reasons.
“Killer whales in the Pacific Northwest are basically orcas that have self-adopted to eat only salmon,” Virgil said. “But if vessels get close to their feeding areas, they will stop eating.”
Unfortunately, busy shipping lanes often coincide with whale feeding areas, breeding regions, and migratory routes.
He said humans have caused many of the problems whales face, so the app is just a way to be more proactive — more cooperative, collaborative, and economically viable.
Virgil hopes his Oshkosh forum appearance will get more people to download the app and use it, and in turn save more whales. He warns that people should never just approach whales to get pictures, however. Sightings can be made without photos.
The app currently receives 10,000-15,000 whale sightings a year, with about one-third of those coming from the cruise ship industry, which is required to report. Whale Alert works without an internet connection.
The app includes guidelines when you are in sight of whales, allows you to easily report a whale sighting, and includes descriptions (blow hole size and shape, dorsal fin shape and presence, etc.) and pictures to help you better identify types of whales.
For questions about the app, email deanna@conserve.io.
