Partnership launches acoustic monitoring buoy for whale conservation off the coast of Savannah

Credit: CMA CGM

Credit: CMA CGM

Editor’s note: this story has been updated to reflect the correct name of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

While more and more cargo ships enter the Georgia Port Authority each year, some of Savannah's most precious cargo enters the coast just below the water's surface: the North Atlantic right whales and their calves.

To protect the marine mammals during migration and in their breeding grounds, global logistics company CMA CGM partnered with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution to launch an acoustic buoy off the coast of Savannah to aide North Atlantic right whale detection along the busy shipping route in Georgia's waters.

The North Atlantic right whale is a critically endangered species of marine mammal with only an estimated 336 left in the world. The whales face threats from fishing nets and lines, boat strikes, food availability and noise pollution, which disrupts the whales' song and ability to communicate.

Along the Southeast Coast, between Cape Fear, North Carolina and Cape Canaveral, Florida, the North Atlantic right whale have their babies from mid-November through mid-April, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“This buoy deployment is a great addition to the network of buoys along the East Coast that strive to protect marine life, including the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale," said Mark Baumgartner, project principal investigator and WHOI marine ecologist, in a CMA CGM news release. "Savannah being a highly trafficked route makes it an important location to use this technology to avoid collisions and to protect the species.”

Credit: Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News

Credit: Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News

CMA CGM funded in its entirety the acoustic monitoring buoy, named the CMA CGM Sea Guardian-Savannah, 39 miles off the coast of the city as well as one located in Norfolk, Virginia in the whale's northerly range.

The acoustic monitoring device picks up sounds underwater and sends them to a satellite, which in turns sends the data to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. There, scientists listen to the recordings and are able to determine what kind of marine life, and estimate how many of the species, and relay that information to mariners, said Heather Wood, CMA CGM head of Sustainability-North America.

"We really believe that as users of the world's oceans, we need to be stewards of the world's oceans," said Wood.

According to Wood, this is one of the company's several initiatives aimed at sustainability and reducing impact on marine mammals.

The first collaboration between CGM CMA and Woods Hole, Wood said she and the rest of the company are looking forward to continuing to work together to integrate sustainable practices into global logistics.

Marisa Mecke is an environmental journalist. She can be reached at mmecke@gannett.com or by phone at (912) 328-4411.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Partnership launches acoustic monitoring buoy for whale conservation off the coast of Savannah