Creating a
Quiet Ocean
for Whales

Welcome to Whale Sound, an interactive platform designed by the BC Hydrophone Network community. Together, we are developing tools to better understand whale communication and protect the underwater soundscapes of BC. Members of the BC Hydrophone Network have developed a coast-wide acoustic underwater monitoring network with the use of standardized hydrophone stations, connected to a user-friendly interactive map and dashboard that tracks whales and the underwater noise levels along the entire coast of British Columbia. Here you can explore the diversity and culture of whale communication and investigate whale presence, habitat usage, and levels of human-generated ocean noise at specific sites along the BC coast.

All acoustic data is available to help researchers, territorial stewards, and conservation-minded individuals identify trends regarding whale habitat use and human made underwater noise levels within different regions of the coast. This access to data is also a great resource for comparing the acoustic behaviour of whales in relation to different levels of noise in their environment. This has led to many interesting discoveries regarding the culture and acoustic traditions of different whale species, and how their acoustic behaviour depends on the changes within their underwater world of sound.

Here you can also find information about hydrophone sites, whale communication, and the growing concern of increasing noise levels within the ocean and the impacts this can have on the daily lives of whales. You can also connect directly to live hydrophones stations where you can listen in 24/7 to world of whales and the soundscapes they live in.

Community

The WhaleSound acoustic data and education platform was developed by the BC Hydrophone Network (BCHN) collaboration of Indigenous communities, NGOs, and conservation minded individuals.

Who We Are

Technology

BCHN members have installed 22 standardized hydrophone stations. Acoustic data collected from each site is processed for all whale calls and underwater noise levels with results on the SeaStats dashboard, available through the interactive map.

How We Listen

Research

We support community-based, student, policy, management, and independent projects seeking to use hydrophone data for scientific publications, and to inform conservation planning and stewardship.

Our Research

Dive Into the Data

The acoustic data library is available through the interactive map and by data request form. For any hydrophone stations that are password protected, please reach out to the data owner listed directly for access.

Whale Sound expands our awareness of the underwater world of whales and the soundscapes they live in. It is a place we historically have not well understood. Today, this is changing, and now we recognize that to truly understand the behaviour and habitat needs of whales, we need to listen!

View the Map

Our vision is to support community-based projects that protect whales and inform conservation planning for British Columbia’s most exceptional wild marine places.

Listen & Learn

Whales & Sound

SeaStats Dashboard

Whale Vocalizations

Ocean Noise

Subscribe to our Newsletter

The BC Hydrophone Network is a collaboration of first nations, coastal communities and NGOs who work collectively to understand and protect the marine soundscape of British Columbia. Whale Sound is its platform and outreach project.

Collectively we have over 20 hydrophones installed at key locations along the coast and are creating a massive library of acoustic data which is available for researchers seeking to understand habitat use and needs, to inform conservation policy, identify areas of acoustic concern, and monitor changes to the acoustic landscape in the wake of new shipping routes and increased vessel activity.

Photographs, videos, and audio sound tracks are the sole property of the contributing partners.