Science News
Alarm system protects Boston whales from shipping accidents
By DPA
May 7, 2008, 23:30 GMT

New York A new alarm system at the mouth of Boston Harbour is working to protect endangered North Atlantic right whales from collisions with passing ships.

Along one of the most highly traveled waterways in the US, underwater microphones register the sound of approaching whales and warn ships to slow down.

'We think it's working extremely well,' said David Wiley, research coordinator for the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary in a report to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology magazine, Technology Review. 'The detections are being sent out, and we know the LNG (liquid natural gas) ships are slowing down.'

Worldwide only about 400 of the particular right whale species survive. Collisions with ships are the main cause of death in large part because the whales are actually too trusting and usually swim near the surface.

At least two North Atlantic right whales have been killed by ships within the past three years, said Leila Hatch, regional marine bioacoustic coordinator for the sanctuary. 'This is in a population where we cannot lose one.'

The new alarm system cost 1.3 million dollars. Experts calculate that over the next 25 years operations will cost about 1 million dollars per year.

'It's definitely an expensive tactic,' Hatch said. 'But, it's something that the shipping industry has accepted.'

Ships are being asked not to sail faster than 10 knots when instruments detect that a whale has surfaced.