These rare killer whales are threatened by shipping noise. AI is turning down the din

In September, 76 orcas arrived in Washington’s Salish Sea—the last group of endangered southern resident killer whales—entering Admiralty Inlet and moving toward Puget Sound to hunt Chinook salmon through late summer into early winter. Scientists warn that heavy maritime shipping noise is disrupting their ability to hunt, communicate and echolocate, while vessel traffic also adds collision risk. The southern resident population was first surveyed in 1974 at 71 whales, peaked at 97 in 1996, and later fell to 79 in 2001; it was listed endangered in 2005. A 2024 study tied each 1-decibel increase in maximum noise to 58% lower likelihood for females to pursue prey. Quiet Sound, within Maritime Blue, launched a voluntary 20-mile ship slow-down near Seattle, Tacoma and Everett; participation this season reached 73% and underwater noise fell up to 50%. Ahead of migration, the initiative, SMRU Consulting and Microsoft introduced an AI-powered acoustic buoy.