Vessel Watch Project - Seaflow and SFBay Whale Watching Offer Special Trips

Join SF Bay Whale Watching and Seaflow for the Vessel Watch Project - special whale watching trips on May 4, June 15, July 12, and August 3. Come listen to the underwater world of sound, learn about ocean noise pollution and the impact large vessel traffic has on The Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary.


Seaflow is a non-profit organization that provides public education and advocacy outreach to protect whales, dolphins, fish and all marine life from high intensity active sonars and other sources of human generated ocean noise pollution. Members of Seaflow will be coming aboard SF Bay Whale Watching trips to view whales, monitor the acoustic environment with hydrophones, and monitor maritime traffic in the shipping lanes.


We are delighted to have them aboard and hope that our other passengers take the opportunity to engage Seaflow members in conversation. There is much to learn about the effect of noise pollution on marine life and public awareness is vital in order to implement necessary protections. Participants in the Seaflow Vessel Watch Project will record their visual and acoustic observations, the speed of observed cargo vessels, and issue a press release and public notice documenting their findings on www.seaflow.org.


Our oceans are now filled with many human-generated, intensely loud and disturbing sounds. Major sources of human-generated intense underwater noises are seismic airguns, used to prospect for offshore oil, and military sonar. Low frequency active sonar is loud enough to be heard over a distance of 1000 miles. According to the Navy’s own test results, high intensity active sonars can have harmful effects on humans who swim or dive in nearby waters.


A growing body of scientific research confirms that the intense sounds produced by active sonars can inflict a range of adverse effects on marine mammals. These effects include death and serious injury caused by lung hemorrhage or tissue trauma, strandings and beachings, temporary and permanent hearing loss, disruption of feeding, breeding, nursing, communication and sensing, and other behaviors vital to survival.


For those passengers who come aboard an SF Bay Whale Watching trip on May 4, June 15, July 12 or August 3 it will be a special chance to listen to the underwater sounds of vessels and the sounds that whales may make. And it may be further proof that the raucous barking of sea lions that you may hear from ashore the Farallon Islands, also goes on below the water - yes, sea lions bark underwater! (see blog entry dated Sept. 21, 2006)

Photos and text by Kathleen Jacques.