Protect Whales. Prevent Collisions. Join the Effort.
Vessel strikes are a leading cause of whale injury and death around the world. With the Whale Alert app, you can help keep whales safe—whether you're a mariner, recreational boater, beachgoer, or scientist.
Whale Alert turns your sightings into action.
Report live, dead, or injured whales, stay informed about speed zones and regulations, and view whale activity on an interactive map. Every report contributes to a safer ocean for whales and people.
Key Features:
- Interactive Map: View recent whale sightings from professionals and citizen scientists, acoustic detections from buoys and gliders, and aerial survey data.
- Real-Time Alerts: Get notified when you're near recent whale activity or areas of concern.
- Report Sightings: Log sightings of living, dead, or injured whales and report marine hazards or vessel strikes.
- Whale ID Guide: Identify whale species accurately using an in-app identification tool.
- First Responder Connection: Quickly connect with response teams for distressed, stranded or dead whales..
- Collision Risk Monitoring: Understand your vessel’s risk based on location, speed, and likelihood of whale presence.
- Marine Rules at a Glance: Access speed limits, seasonal protections, and region-specific whale approach guidelines.
- Data-Rich Map Layers: Includes arine sanctuaries and protected areas, seasonal and dynamic management areas, U.S. marine charts, NOAA PORTS® data, and likely whale presence along the U.S. East Coast and Europe.
- Multilingual Support: Available in English, French, and Spanish.
Whale Alert is currently available in the U.S., Canada, and Europe.
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Why It Matters:
Whales are vulnerable to collisions with vessels of all sizes. In California, gray whales are the most commonly reported victims of vessel strikes. On the Atlantic coast, the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale faces a similar threat. In the Mediterranean, vessel strikes are the leading cause of human-caused death for fin and sperm whales.
Slowing down saves lives. Whale Alert empowers you to take simple, informed actions that make a big impact. By reporting sightings and following in-app guidance, you help reduce ship strikes, inform science and policy, and protect some of the ocean’s most iconic creatures.
The Whale Alert team consists of IFAW, Conserve.IO and Greenov. We are part of a global effort to reduce vessel strikes and other human activities that threaten marine mammals. Our network of partners, contributors and sponsors include NOAA Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, Whale Alert — West Coast, NOAA Fisheries Service, Canadian Whale Institute, Channel Island Cetacean Research Unit, Bay of Fundy—Tidal Energy, Whale Alert Alaska—National Park Service, The Marine Mammal Center, Orca Network, Beam Reach, OceanWise, Marine Mammal Advisory Group, Ørsted and ProtectedSeas.
Download Whale Alert today and help make the ocean safer for whales—one sighting at a time.
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Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life.
First: so appreciative for this free app. The data is uses is great, as is the ability to report through it. I’ve used it to stay aware of whales I’ve come across in the Puget Sound. After the most recent update, it seems the API call to get the whale sightings is blocking. You can’t do anything with the app on the first 15-30 seconds and when you try to move the map it freezes. A feature that allows you to filter by species or time seen would be great!
Could use some work, but overall AMAZING!!!
Sudo_Lo
OMG. This app is amazing for whale enthusiasts, mariners, fishermen, researchers, citizen scientists, educators, aviators, environmentalists, and so much more.I get that the creators currently only think of this as a way to help prevent ship strikes; are they not realizing how incredible this tool is? When I zoom out I can see where in the entire world whales have been seen and what type. I can see that their ranges and distributions are different than what we previously thought post-whaling. This tool could provide international open source crowdsourcing for data collection on all whales for all researchers looking to aid in endangered species conservation.It needs some performance improvements. The app needs more downloads and support for the developers to be able to do those though. This tool is phenomenal. I’m telling all of my friends. Thank you 😍
Good but could be improved
alyssa183893838
This is a super helpful app for the whale enthusiast and I can see how it would be helpful for those with boats! Unfortunately, the update time is very much lagging, which is less helpful. I was using this to try to see whales on a recent trip and I was in the area where whales were located, but didn’t see the updates to this app until hours later despite checking it and refreshing it frequently. Good, could be great with some updates.
Continues to use location well after closing the app
tpeterson1959
I like this app and check on my daily commute across Puget Sound, but it continues to use location services for up to an hour after I stopped using the app (and have been inland, well away from water. I have it set to use the precise location while using the app). Otherwise it’s nice to use and very informative concerning the whales and whale pods spotted along my commute.
- Improved performance and stability
- Improved "Report Sighting" process
- Faster map, sightings, and zone loading
- Improved zone details
- In-app feedback and support
Version 4.4.0
The developer, Conserve.IO, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Linked to You
The following data may be collected and linked to your identity:
Location
Contact Info
User Content
Data Not Linked to You
The following data may be collected but it is not linked to your identity:
Usage Data
Diagnostics
Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More
Information
Seller
Conserve.IO Inc.
Size
133.6 MB
Category
Navigation
Compatibility
Requires iOS 14.1 or later.
iPhone Requires iOS 14.1 or later.
iPad Requires iPadOS 14.1 or later.
iPod touch Requires iOS 14.1 or later.
Mac Requires macOS 11.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later.
Apple Vision Requires visionOS 1.0 or later.
Location
This app may use your location even when it isn’t open, which can decrease device battery life.
