The US Navy is adapting an acoustic sensor system in order to monitor marine mammals in the Nanoose Bay test range in the Strait of Georgia. The acoustic sensors will help in planning and conducting joint US-Canadian naval testing activity to minimize impact on marine mammals, including the endangered southern resident killer whale. The system – Marine Mammal Monitoring (M3R) – uses hydrophones and computer algorithms to detect, identify, and track marine mammals that might be approaching Navy testing ranges, whose noise can harm marine mammals if they are too close.
