Vessel strikes are a leading cause of whale mortality. Large whales are vulnerable to collisions with all vessel types, sizes, and classes throughout the world's oceans. As our waterways become increasingly congested, high-traffic areas often intersect key marine mammal habitats.

In California, gray whales are the most commonly reported vessel strikes. Along the Atlantic coast, it's the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale. Regardless of location, these strikes are often deadly for whales and cause significant damage to vessels.

Luckily, we know the solution - slow vessels down!

Public whale sightings submitted via Whale Alert help establish speed zones, warnings, and other measures to reduce vessel speeds and reduce risks to whales.

Whale Alert is a citizen science app where whale sightings are used to help prevent vessel strikes.
The Whale Alert app was launched in 2012 as a citizen science tool aimed at reducing the risk of vessel strikes. The app uses whale presence data including verified sightings, acoustic detections from buoys and gliders, and aerial surveys to display a user-friendly map based on nautical charts from country-specific government agencies.

Mariners, scientists, whale watchers, recreational boaters, and beachgoers alike can use their personal devices to easily share whale sightings with the Whale Alert team who then verify the information before posting it to the map in near-real time.

Public whale sightings submitted via Whale Alert help establish speed zones, warnings, and other measures to reduce vessel speeds and reduce risks to whales and mariners. Contributing to Whale Alert informs more accurate, evidence-driven administration of management areas to protect both whales and the livelihoods of people on the water.

Critically, Whale Alert includes the ability to report live, dead, or distressed whales and facilitates phone calls (where required) to direct a report to regional management professionals with the user's location, enhancing the survivability of whales in distress.

Sightings can be logged by recreational boaters, whale watchers, ferry captains, cruise ship passengers, sailors, land-based observers, fishermen, dock workers - if you can see a whale, you can add your sighting in Whale Alert!