Learn how your smart device can make you a Savvy Citizen Science Steward & Whales off the Golden Gate

Come learn about two new smart phone applications and how sightings that you contribute is being used to protect endangered whales. In tonight's talk you will learn how you can help! We will show you how to download the new apps, share your sightings, see the data, and becoming part of the solution to whale ship strikes. With the new app, you have access to identification tips and the ability to contribute sightings of whales to our collaborative national database.  NOAA armed with the most current and up-to-date information is able to work with the USCG and maritime industry so that ship speed can be reduced when large aggregations of whales are in the area. Whale Alert an unprecedented collaboration of government, private sector and non-profit advocates  combines science and computer technology to provide mariners with the best possible tool for reporting sightings of whales and receiving whale management and conservation information, thereby providing whales with the best chance of survival. The app enables mariners and concerned citizens on both coaststo help agencies take more immediate, additional actions to protect whales. Whales in U.S. waters and worldwide face growing threats including deadly ship strikes. NOAA uses this citizen science data to compliment traditional rigorous seasonal surveys. The value of the app is that it extends that geography and time that observation data are collected. Whale Alert can be downloaded free to your iPad or iPhone, or other smartphone device. Working in coordination with the Coast Guard and the maritime industry, NOAA is able to request ships slow down in those locations where whales are present in significant numbers. Come learn how to use the app so you can contribute sightings to this National network of observations to reach the shared goal of furthering protection for endangered whales.

Speaker: Michael Carver, Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary

Humpback and blue whale hotspots in Cordell Bank and Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuaries. The rich ocean environment off the San Francisco Bay region supplies abundant food for whales, porpoises, and other wildlife that migrate here from across the Pacific. These same waters are the site of major shipping lanes, with increasing traffic over recent years resulting in multiple whale strikes.

Speaker: Jaime Jahncke, Point Blue Conservation Science