Orca network's whale sighting network: citizen science and so much more

• Main Authors: Berta, Susan, Garrett, Howard, Lemire Brooks, Alisa
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Western CEDAR 2018
• Subjects: orcas; humpbacks; citizen science; whale sightings; sightings data; Fresh Water Studies; Life Sciences; Marine Biology; Natural Resources and Conservation; Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology; Haro; Pacific; Orca
• Online Access: https://cedar.wwu.edu/ssec/2018ssec/allsessions/211; https://cedar.wwu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2646&context=ssec

Orca Network’s Whale Sighting Network increases awareness of the Southern Resident orcas and other whales, and fosters a stewardship ethic to motivate a diverse audience to take action to protect Northwest waters. The Network provides hands-on opportunities for the public to report sightings of whales, gathering important data for researchers and encouraging shore-based whale watching and Be Whale Wise boating. The Network improves communication between researchers, agencies and the public, raising awareness about whales and related issues. As people become educated through the network, an ever-increasing amount of data is collected, and the public and researchers are able to share information and learn together about the issues affecting whales and how to better address them. The Sighting Network began informally in the late 1990s, via phone calls to a short list of volunteers. With the advent of email and Facebook, the Network has grown from a handful of people to an email list of 15,000 subscribers and a Facebook page reaching over 141,000 followers from the Pacific Northwest and around the world. Additional education is provided by volunteers on the shore watching whales, sharing their knowledge with local residents, and through displays, presentations and events, and our Langley Whale Center on Whidbey Island, WA. We have seen many changes in habitat use and occurrence of unusual species over the decades, most recently the historic decrease in use of Haro Strait by Southern Residents, and a marked increase in Transient/Bigg's orcas and Humpback whales in Puget Sound and the Salish Sea. The Sighting Network has also actively worked with Stranding Networks and researchers in assisting to locate and track entangled whales or cetaceans out of their usual habitat. Sightings data collected through the Network has been cited in numerous research publications on Southern Resident and Transient/Bigg's orcas, Humpbacks, Gray whales and Fin whales.