AI thermal cameras aim to prevent lethal whale strikes

AI thermal – A new AI-powered thermal camera system is being used off California’s coast to spot gray whales in near real time and alert nearby ships to change course—an effort driven by the toll of ship strikes that has become the leading cause of gray whale deaths around

The scene is supposed to be calm: gray whales moving through San Francisco Bay as the season unfolds. Instead, the stakes are constant and unforgiving—because the leading killer is not disease or predators.

It’s ships.

Last year, 21 gray whales were found dead around San Francisco Bay, and 40% of those deaths were tied to ship collisions. This year has been no reprieve. During a whale season that peaks this month, seven whales have already died.

Scientists say the problem is getting harder as climate change shifts the food chain in the Arctic. With prey moving, more gray whales are turning up in San Francisco Bay in search of food. The result is a collision risk that rises with every day whales spend in the hustle and bustle of the region.

Douglas McCauley. director of the Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory at UC Santa Barbara. described the moment-to-moment reality of watching a threatened species navigate a major shipping and ferry corridor. “It is heartbreaking to see these starving whales stumbling around in the middle of the hustle and bustle of San Francisco Bay. ” he said in a news release from the lab. “Every day is a nail-biter. But what gives me hope is seeing how all the right partners in the Bay Area community have come together to do something. This new system will save whales’ lives. We are all proud of this.”.

The system being rolled out is built around thermal imaging and AI. Using Flir thermal cameras and AI-powered detection technology developed by WhaleSpotter. researchers can detect a whale’s heat signature from up to four nautical miles away. Once a whale’s location is identified. scientists post it to the Whale Safe website so bay mariners and the U.S. Coast Guard can see where whales are before vessels get too close.

For McCauley and other researchers, the hope is straightforward: reduce the number of times ships pass through the same stretch of water a whale is using.

It’s also a system designed to scale. Researchers are tracking whales daily, but the data problem—where sightings happen and how quickly operators can respond—has room to grow. A recent federal effort points in the same direction.

Last month, Rep. Sam Liccardo (D-San Jose) introduced a bill that would create a “whale desk” in the U.S. Coast Guard’s San Francisco station. The goal is to let mariners report whale sightings and help alert vessel operators in an effort to prevent more collisions.

Liccardo said researchers track these whales daily. but “we can scale their impact by crowdsourcing data from the many more numerous commercial and recreational boats. and building a centralized alert system.” He added: “A whale desk will protect these magnificent creatures and help mariners avoid costly. harrowing collisions. Together, let’s Save Willy.”.

The stakes extend beyond one bay. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration puts the number of Eastern North Pacific gray whales worldwide between 11. 700 and 14. 450—about half the population of roughly 27. 000 in 2016. NOAA also says the current population is the lowest ever recorded since the late 1960s and ’70s.

A study published in April found that about 18% of the gray whales in the bay between 2018 and 2025 died, and at least 40% of those deaths were caused by ship strikes.

So the new detection network isn’t just technology for technology’s sake. It’s a response to a repeated pattern in the numbers—one that shows up in necropsies and emergency sightings, and now is being treated as an operational problem ships can help solve.

The first part of the whale-detection network has been installed on Angel Island. A second camera is planned for the MV Lyra. a vessel operated by SF Bay Ferry that connects Vallejo to downtown San Francisco. according to the release. Scientists hope to expand the network to the entire bay, including the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz.

SF Bay Ferry’s executive director. Seamus Murphy. said the ferry is part of both monitoring and education—training mariners to use the alerts and then adjust behavior accordingly. “Testing the thermal monitoring system designed and provided by the Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory is the next evolution of our work. and we’re thrilled to soon have one of the bay’s two monitoring cameras on our ferry. ” Murphy said. “We remain committed to bringing together fellow vessel operators to protect whales with the best available technology and protocols.”.

With whales increasingly drawn into San Francisco Bay, the question now is whether faster detection and clearer alerts can change what has become an all-too-common outcome: a collision that arrives far too quickly for most people to react.

AI thermal cameras gray whales ship strikes San Francisco Bay Flir thermal cameras WhaleSpotter Whale Safe website U.S. Coast Guard Sam Liccardo whale desk SF Bay Ferry Angel Island MV Lyra