Ottawa announces $26M for noise reduction research to help right whales
HALIFAX — Sound-seeking gliders will cruise the habitats of North Atlantic right whales in a bid to capture their calls and learn more about how noises in the ocean may affect the health of the endangered species.
The federal government said Friday it will spend $26.6 million on research to help better understand noise pressures on marine mammals, including right whales, southern resident killer whales and St. Lawrence Estuary belugas, amongst others.
Scientists said the funding will help create a fuller picture of the ecosystem where the whales migrate and what effect sounds have on their stress levels, as well as their ability to feed and mate.
“It’s really important to do the research, because if you don’t know where the right whales are, you can’t protect them,” Andrew Wright, a marine biologist at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography, said at the announcement in Halifax.