Whale Alert 4+

Reducing Ship Strikes

Conserve.IO

Designed for iPad

    • 3.4 • 33 Ratings
    • Free

Screenshots

Description

Whale Alert helps reduce the chance of fatal ship strikes by large vessels by displaying active whale management areas, required reporting areas, recommended routes, areas-to-be-avoided and near real-time warnings in shipping lanes along both coasts of the United States and Canada. This information allows vessel operators to avoid collision with whales by slowing down and heightening their visual awareness.

Whale Alert now supports reporting of whale sightings by the maritime community and the broader public. This information is shared in real-time with leading whale researchers and state and federal management authorities. In some cases, whale sightings will trigger confirmation “over-flights” by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) or the United States Coast Guard (USCG) who will then determine whether or not temporary speed restrictions should be created (Dynamic Management Areas).

Whale Alert 3.0 features include:

A growing roster of whale protection zones and speed recommendations including:
* NOAA Atlantic Seasonal Management Areas
* NOAA Atlantic Dynamic Management Areas
* NOAA Atlantic MSR Boundaries
* NOAA Atlantic Recommended Routes
* NOAA and IMO Atlantic designated Areas-to-be-Avoided
* NOAA and IMO Traffic Separation Schemes (San Pedro and Santa Barbara Channels)
* NOAA and IMO Traffic Separation Scheme (San Francisco Bay)
* NOAA Alaska Right Whale Critical Habitat

* Near Real-time Boston-area Acoustic Whale Detection Buoys (for Right Whales only)
* Near Real-time wave glider whale detections and selected human sightings
* Dynamic Management Areas via Internet or AIS over WIFI
* Seamless U.S. Nautical Raster Charts

* GPS Position Tracking and Alert for Entering Management Areas
* Whale sighting recording support (form, camera functions)
* Automatic posting of sightings data to central research database

Whale Alert is a collaboration of government agencies, academic institutions, non-profit conservation groups and private sector companies,: IFAW, Conserve.IO, Excelerate Energy, EOM Offshore, International Fund for Animal Welfare, Massachusetts Port Authority, NOAA Fisheries Service, NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries, , National Park Service, Cape Cod National Seashore, Point Blue Conservation Science, NYK Line (North America), United States Coast Guard and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

*****
Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life.

What’s New

Version 3.1

- updated icons for most whale species
- user selectable time range for sightings in info menu
- bug fixes for newer iphones with notched screens
- many bug fixes and tweaks

Ratings and Reviews

3.4 out of 5
33 Ratings

33 Ratings

tpeterson1959 ,

Continues to use location well after closing the app

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.

Sudo_Lo ,

Could use some work, but overall AMAZING!!!

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 😍

alyssa183893838 ,

Good but could be improved

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.

App Privacy

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

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