David Hannay presents the Underwater Listening Station

Transportation Minister Marc Garneau (left) and David Hannay, JASCO's Chief Science Officer (right).

David Hannay, Chief Science Officer at JASCO Applied Sciences, presents information on the development of the Strait of Georgia Underwater Listening Station (ULS) to Transportation Minister Marc Garneau.

The ULS is a collaboration between JASCO, Transport Canada, Port of Vancouver’s Enhancing Cetacean Habitat and Observation (ECHO) Program, and Ocean Networks Canada (ONC). JASCO's acoustic monitoring systems—Autonomous Multichannel Acoustic Recorders (AMAR)—measure underwater noise emission levels from vessels visiting the port. ONC's underwater network transmits these sounds to shore where they are processed and displayed by JASCO's PortListen web-based user interface. PortListen also measures ambient noise levels and automatically detects and displays marine mammal calls. These systems monitor the ocean in real-time and can play an important role in implementing Canada's Oceans Protection Plan.

Update

Hannay's op-ed piece published in Vancouver Sun: ECHO Program takes heed of underwater noise and marine life.