AIS Right Whale Protection Solution

The AIS Right Whale Protection Solution is based on the SiiTech AIS Server and SiiTech Web VTS products and allows competent authorities to improve protection for whales. If fact, this solution is applicable to all kinds of marine natural environments - for instance, wildlife protection from oil spills, pollutant discharge, and ocean dumping. This solution could help protect marine parks and key habitats.

The northern right whale, the world’s most endangered large cetacean, inhabits both the North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans. The right whale was prized by hunters due to its coastal habitat, relatively slow speed through water, tendency to float when dead, and large yields of high-quality whale oil. In 1949, the International Whaling Commission banned commercial harvest of right whales. Ever since the ban was adopted by the U.S., right whales have been protected from hunters for more than half a century. Despite this protection, northern right whale populations have remained at precariously low levels; currently the population in the western North Atlantic consists of approximately 300 animals. Recovery of the population is likely being slowed by human activities, especially fishing and shipping. Collision between ships and whales are the single largest known cause of right whale deaths. A total of 45 right whale deaths were recorded between 1970 and 1990.

The AIS Right Whale Protection Solution could:

  • Build a right whale habitat guardian zone
  • Send automatic reminders to ships entering into right whale habitats
  • Deploy position of last right whale sighting
  • Send automatic warning alerts to ships approaching within the vicinity of whales
  • Calculate an Estimated Time of Arrival to the last right whale sighting
  • Send safety messages to AIS-equipped ships
  • Receive messages from AIS-equipped ships
  • Investigate accidents (unlimited history replay function)
  • Create sophisticated reports
  • Trigger alarms
  • Make decisions in operational actions

This solution supports S57 and S63 nautical charts, Open Street, Bing and Google maps.  

SiiTech AIS Right Whale Protection Solution

Northeastern Right Whale Habitat Protection Zone