Federal government invests $3M in a dozen research projects to protect whales

Acoustic research scientist Yvan Simard is developing a new technology to allow pilots to detect whales in their ship's vicinity using sound — a goal that is within reach, thanks to a cash injection from the federal government's Oceans Protection Plan.

Simard's whale-detection buoys are among a dozen initiatives to receive a share of $3 million in funding, announced by federal Fisheries Minister Jonathan Wilkinson on Wednesday. 

Wilkinson said hundreds of people are working on innovative ways of protecting whales — specifically, the belugas in the St. Lawrence Estuary and the North Atlantic right whales in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

There are only about 400 right whales left in the planet's oceans, and eight have been found dead so far this year — three of them, following collisions with ships.

"Clearly, we need to do even more," Wilkinson said.

Whales use underwater echolocation to communicate with each other and to hunt. Simard is working on technology to detect them through the sounds they make.

Simard said his pilot project — which currently has five functioning whale-detection buoys — will allow ship captains to track where the animals are in real time, 24 hours a day, seven days a week — regardless of weather conditions or time of day.

"We can detect the whales at about 30 kilometres away from the buoy itself, so it covers a wide range," he said.

Moira Brown, a researcher with the Canadian Whale Institute, said scientists have done a "tremendous job" monitoring the right whale population.

She said that although it's encouraging that none of the whale deaths this year seem to be from entanglements, she is "very frustrated" by the deaths caused by collisions.

"These things don't happen overnight, and we don't have a solution on the shelf," Brown said. "It is going to take some time, but we can't  really afford much time with right whales."

Exacerbating the issue is the fact that right whales have changed their migratory patterns in recent years, shifting away from the Bay of Fundy and travelling further into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Brown said. That's caused an "accidental overlap" with the fishing and shipping industries.

"This is a relatively new habitat for right whales and for the researchers," she said. "It's a huge body of water, and it's a real challenge."

Wilkinson said the $3 million had already been earmarked as part of the government's $1.5-billion Oceans Protection Plan, but the dozen projects to receive funding Wednesday are new.

Researchers also announced that four right whale mother-calf pairs have been spotted in the Gulf of St. Lawrence — a good sign for the population, they said.

However, three other whales have also been spotted, entangled.