A scenario for Right Whale detection in the Bay of Fundy

The Northern Right Whale (Eubalaena glacialis) is the most endangered large whale species. Collisions with ships is the cause of a large percentage of documented deaths, and is an inherent problem in the Bay of Fundy in summer and fall, when the whales are in the area. Acoustic methods to detect, localize and track right whales are investigated for the Bay of Fundy. Factors limiting probability of detection are identified, based on simple scenarios and acoustic systems, for realistic environmental conditions encountered in the summer.