It is Time to Listen to Howe Sound
In the summer of 2023, Brunswick Beach residents experienced a mass herring bait ball pass along the shoreline, aggregations of California sea lions, followed by many humpback and killer whale sightings. Long-term residents stated they had never experienced this in their lifetime of living on Howe Sound. Thus, we believe it is time to document, share, and protect this revival through the non-invasive methods of underwater acoustics.
Howe Sound Revival is a newly founded community-based non-profit organization based in Howe Sound (Átl'ka7tsem) UNESCO Biosphere Region. Our goal is to document and share the revival of marine life through underwater acoustics to conserve and protect the recovery of whales in Howe Sound. We aim to 1) create a space for the land-based community to connect with Howe Sound and listen to marine mammal vocalizations in real-time, 2) use these real-time vocalizations to alert ships of whale presence and promote vessel slowdowns and re-routing, 3) create an acoustic baseline for marine mammal presence to research monthly and yearly trends to monitor habitat use as industry and vessel traffic increases, and 4) provide an opportunity for the community to volunteer and get involved with marine research and acoustics. You can learn more about the History of Howe Sound and why we are interested in Listening on our website.
Creating a good quality audio stream from a hydrophone that will withstand the marine environment is an expensive endeavour. This is why listening to and protecting the marine mammals of Howe Sound will take a community of support. See how you can help financially or as a volunteer to bring this project to life.
