Observations of marine mammals in the Petit Passage & Grand Passage, NS and adjacent waters in the eastern Bay of Fundy to assess species composition, distribution, number and seasonality
PIs: Greg Trowse, Fundy Tidal Inc; Dr. Moira Brown, Canadian Whale Institute; and Brad Whinney, Conserve.IO
Funding: OERA
Project Duration: April - Dec 2014
Contact: info@fundytidal.com
Website: http://www.fundytidal.com/news-a-events/98-wheres-the-whale
Description: This research project aims to implement a common mobile tool, database, and alert system for recording and acting on marine life sightings, while engaging coastal communities in protection of the marine environment and utilizing crowd-sourcing to collect data for scientific research in Grand Passage, Petit Passage, and adjacent waters. Free smart phone applications will be available to public ("citizen scientists"), whale tour operators, and other users (including trained dedicated observers) to participate in recording marine life observations for tidal energy and other scientific purposes. Observations will be uploaded to a common online database, and users will be able to assess species composition, distribution, abundance and seasonality. The program will enhance efforts currently underway by local whale and seabird tour operators.Two smart phone applications will be used to collect marine life observation data. One is designed for effort based surveys (Spotter Pro), and the other for opportunistic sightings (Whale Alert).