Today’s Solutions: March 11, 2025

North Atlantic right whale populations used to thrive in the ocean. As of 2021, though, approximately 300 right whales remain in the wild, a steep drop from 480 right whales counted in 2011.

Reasons for the decline of the right whale population include entanglement in fishing nets, habitat loss, and climate change, which is forcing the whales into warmer and busier waters in search of food. This makes it more difficult for the remaining whales to avoid collisions with ships, another fatal event.

However, marine ecologist Mark Baumgartner may have a genius solution that could help protect the remaining right whales. Baumgartner worked for years on deploying real-time listening devices that record whale songs. Now, his lab has partnered with a marine shipping company to deploy two robotic buoys that can send information back to shore on the whereabouts of right whales in the ocean.

The tech, which was developed by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, can help inform mariners and the public of the location of the endangered mammals, effectively preventing ships from colliding with them. This device could protect animals in a way that is beyond the scope of regulations and rules.

“We have to change our industrial practices when whales are around,” declares Baumgartner. “That’s what this tech enables. Having the industry tell us what works and what doesn’t is the best way to have solutions that will actually be implemented.”

Solutions News Source Print this article
More of Today's Solutions

From ocean icon to world’s largest artificial reef: the final voyage of the S...

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM The SS United States, once a gleaming symbol of American engineering might, is charting a new course beneath ...

Read More

Is soursop the “anticancer” super-fruit or just a tropical treat?

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM If you’ve never heard of soursop, you’re not alone. This spiky green fruit, also known as graviola, recently ...

Read More

“Dramatic” success in clinical trials of asthma treatment

According to the AAFA, around 25 million people in the U.S. have asthma, about one in every 13 people. This long-term disease causes swelling ...

Read More

AI makes wind farms safer for birds— a win for green energy expansion

For years, concerns over the potential harm wind turbines might cause to birds have been an obstacle to the expansion of wind energy. However, ...

Read More