A glider preparing to launch into the ocean.

Continuing efforts to protect the endangered North Atlantic right whales, researchers from the University of New Brunswick have added to the fleet of underwater robots patrolling the Gulf of St. Lawrence—a bustling shipping corridor linking major Canadian cities and global ports. Fitted with underwater microphones, these unmanned robots, known as gliders, help scientists track whale movements acoustically.

Ship collisions pose a severe threat to the North Atlantic right whales’ survival. According to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, since 2017, at least 15 whales have died as a result of vessel strikes, contributing to a total mortality count of 40 whales across all causes. Conservationists estimate the remaining population to be between 350 and 360 whales, with fewer than 70 reproductive females.

In a collaborative initiative involving researchers from the University of New Brunswick (UNB), Ocean Tracking Network, Transport Canada, and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, a third glider was placed in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

In Canada, a sighting of a right whale triggers fishing closures and speed restrictions—wherein ships longer than 13 meters to reduce speeds to 10 knots (approximately 19 km/h).

“The survival of North Atlantic right whales is at stake here,” says Kimberley Davies, associate professor of Biological Sciences at UNB, in conversation with CTV News. “A large vessel traveling at 25 knots would likely fatally injure a whale upon impact, whereas reducing speed significantly mitigates this risk.”