A new marine robot, part of a fleet of underwater gliders operated by the Ocean Tracking Network and Dalhousie University in Halifax, will help monitor endangered North Atlantic right whales to keep them from colliding with ships. The newest glider will carry a hydrophone, which can identify the calls of right whales and report their locations, Fred Whoriskey, executive director of the Ocean Tracking Network, said Monday. "There is no one way to effectively determine where the whales are at any given moment when they are in the Gulf of St. Lawrence," Whoriskey said in an interview. This North Atlantic right whale, spotted northeast of the Magdalen Islands in the Gulf of St. Lawrence on April 25, was the first right whale in Canadian waters this year. Whoriskey said he believes his team's research, which includes analyzing the animals' movements and the location of food sources, will help the species bounce back.

Source: CBC News July 19, 2021 20:26 UTC