Monitoring Endangered North Atlantic Right Whales in Near Real-Time by Sound, Air, and Sea

NOAA Fisheries uses the latest technologies, such as passive acoustic monitoring, to detect endangered North Atlantic right whales in near real-time and support the species’ recovery.

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Three people wearing rubber boots, chest waders, and protective gear, haul a large yellow and white passive acoustic recorder out of the ocean at the end of a large boat. Researchers retrieve a passive acoustic recorder. Courtesy: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute
A Bryde's whale swims along the surface of the ocean. A Bryde’s whale photographed in the Mariana Archipelago. Credit: NOAA Fisheries/Adam Ü (NOAA Fisheries MMPA-ESA Permit #14097)
Barrow Beach in Utqiagvik, Alaska on the Arctic Ocean. Barrow Beach in Utqiagvik, Alaska on the Arctic Ocean. Credit: Mabel Baldwin-Schaeffer
Bearded seal laying on ice on water Bearded Seal. Credit: John Jansen/NOAA Fisheries
Marylou Staman conducts green sea turtle surveys at Lalo (French Frigate Shoals).  Credit:  NOAA Fisheries. Marylou Staman conducts green sea turtle surveys at Lalo in the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. More than 90 percent of the Hawaiian green sea turtle population nests at Lalo (French Frigate Shoals). Credit: NOAA Fisheries. Taken under U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Permit #TE-72088A-3 and Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument Co-Manager’s Permit.