AI's killer (whale) app

The Salish Sea, which extends from British Columbia to Washington State in the U.S., was once home to hundreds of killer whales, also known as orcas. Now, the population of Southern Resident Killer Whales, a subgroup of orcas, is struggling to survive--there are only 73 of them left. Building on our work using AI for Social Good, we're partnering with Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) to apply machine learning to protect killer whales in the Salish Sea. According to DFO, which monitors and protects this endangered population of orcas, the greatest threats to the animals are scarcity of prey (particularly Chinook salmon, their favorite meal), contaminants, and disturbance caused by human activity and passing vessels. Teaming up with DFO and Rainforest Connection, we used deep neural networks to track, monitor and observe the orcas' behavior in the Salish Sea, and send alerts to Canadian authorities.