AI-powered thermal cameras aim to protect gray whales in San

Gray whales entering San Francisco Bay are now being monitored by an artificial‑intelligence system that combines thermal cameras with real‑time alerts for mariners, a collaboration between UC Santa Barbara’s Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory, the U.S. Coast Guard and whale experts [1]. The technology is designed to spot whale heat signatures and exhaled breaths from several miles out, giving vessels a chance to adjust speed or course before a collision.

Key takeaways

• AI‑driven FLIR cameras can detect a whale’s heat signature or blow up to four nautical miles (≈7 km) away [1].
• Each detection is reviewed by a credentialed marine‑mammal specialist before alerts are issued [1].
• The first detection node is installed on a Coast Guard station on Angel Island, with a second planned for the MV Lyra ferry [1].
• Gray whale deaths in the Bay have risen sharply, with seven fatalities reported this year alone [1].
• Researchers attribute the increased Bay presence to food scarcity caused by Arctic climate change [1].

Cutting‑edge detection network in the Bay

The system was engineered by researchers at the Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory together with the U.S. Coast Guard’s Vessel Traffic Service and marine‑mammal specialists from The Marine Mammal Center [1]. FLIR thermal cameras feed imagery to WhaleSpotter’s AI algorithms, which flag potential whale sightings around the clock. Once a detection is confirmed by a WhaleSpotter specialist, UC Santa Barbara scientists plot the location on the publicly accessible Whale Safe website, and the Coast Guard can radio nearby vessels with avoidance instructions [1].

The inaugural node sits on a Coast Guard communication station on Angel Island, scanning the corridor between Treasure Island and the Bay Bridge—an area of high overlap between migrating gray whales and commercial traffic [1]. A second node will be mounted on the MV Lyra, a passenger ferry that runs daily between Vallejo and downtown San Francisco, extending coverage to a moving platform and demonstrating the feasibility of vessel‑based monitoring [1].

Why it matters

Gray whales, once a conservation success story, have suffered a steep decline, with half of the Eastern North Pacific population lost in the past decade, a trend linked to diminishing Arctic ice and reduced prey availability [1]. Their altered migration route now brings them into the heavily trafficked Bay, where ship strikes have become a leading cause of mortality—21 deaths were recorded in the Bay last year, and seven more have occurred so far this season [1]. By providing near‑real‑time whale locations, the AI system aims to reduce these collisions and buy time for broader ecosystem interventions.

The project is part of a larger, multi‑agency effort coordinated by the San Francisco Harbor Safety Committee’s Marine Mammal Subcommittee, which brings together ferry operators, the Coast Guard, and research institutions to protect marine mammals while maintaining safe vessel traffic [1]. As additional detection sites are added—potentially at the Golden Gate Bridge or Alcatraz—the network could eventually track all whales in the Bay, offering a “game‑changing” level of situational awareness for both mariners and conservationists [1].