![]() While anyone can report a sighting, only commercial maritime vessels like ferries and ships will be able to see the results. Orca Network, which regularly warns boaters of the presence of whales, told Q13 News they will be among the contributors. They will need to expand that network south in Washington. Ocean Wise said they have a network of about 7,000 people that create credible whale sighting reports, but most of those are in Canada. The app can tag your location to mark the whale sighting. On the app, you can create a new report, select the species, add a photo and any other helpful information. Anyone can do that by downloading the Whale Report app on a smart phone. The information is only useful if people report whale sightings. The app is widely used north of the border in British Columbia, but WSF will be the first commercial partner in Washington. Ocean Wise, which created the app, said they hope Port of Seattle and the U.S. WSF plans to use the technology across its fleet. "This will be used and hopefully can avoid something that was unavoidable last time." "I think we need as many tools as we can have, reasonably," said WSF spokesman Dana Warr, speaking about the new WhaleReport Alert System. ![]() It may have been unavoidable, but there is always more that can be done to alert ferries to the presence of whales as they navigate Puget Sound. Passengers reported seeing the humpback surface just feet in front of the ferry before getting hit. It was a rare strike for WSF, which typically has employees on board tasked with looking out for marine mammals. This summer, a ferry hit and likely killed a young humpback whale in Elliott Bay. In 2016, an 18-year-old orca male known as DoubeStuf, or J34, died from blunt force trauma injuries due to a ship strike, according to the necropsy. Vessels are one of the main threats to the critically endangered southern resident orcas, both in terms of disturbance and the potential for a catastrophic ship strike. SEATTLE - New technology could help ships and ferries navigate around whales in Washington, reducing the chances of a deadly ship strike. This week, Washington State Ferries will be the first to use the WhaleReport Alert System throughout Puget Sound, which will alert captains to credible whale sightings in the area. Tracking whales from the ferry? There`s an app for that
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