UEA technology to detect endangered right whales

The machine learning techniques can be used to detect the whales’ presence by listening to the sounds they make underwater. By locating the whales before they approach potentially harmful situations, for example reaching close proximity to large vessels or entering a mitigation zone, the technology aims to protect the animals and avoid costly shutdowns of offshore operations.

Developed in partnership with the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) and Gardline Geosurvey Limited, the system could hold potential for the species of right whales to survive and increase in population, according to lead researcher Dr Ben Milner. Currently there are only around 350 North Atlantic right whales remaining, and only around 100 females of breeding age.

“One of the main reasons why such automated systems have not been deployed has been the lack of confidence in their accuracy as they have been susceptible to the effects of noise,” said Dr Milner. “With this method, the effect of noise has been demonstrated to now be much less and so we hope more likely to be taken as a serious option for right whale detection.”