Dear MARMAM Community, 

My colleagues and I are excited to invite you to a public webinar to learn about the new tool Whale Safe, the first near real-time whale detection system that uses AI-powered ocean sensors, big data models, and citizen science data to help reduce lethal collisions between endangered whales and large ships in Southern California. Unfortunately, scientists estimate that over 80 endangered whales are killed by ship collisions off the U.S. West Coast each year. To help prevent these fatal collisions, Whale Safe provides near real-time data insights on whale and ship activity in the Santa Barbara Channel and near the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

Whale Safe Webinar

Friday October 2nd 11am - 12pm PT

Register at bit.ly/2ZYb6vl


The webinar will include short presentations from the science team, a demonstration of how the tool works, and time for Q&A. Featured speakers include:

  • Dr. Briana Abrahms, Assistant Professor, University of Washington

  • Dr. Ana Širović, Associate Professor, Texas A&M University at Galveston

  • Dr. Mark Baumgartner, Senior Scientist, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

  • Morgan Visalli, Project Scientist, Benioff Ocean Initiative, University of California Santa Barbara


You can also check out the new website at www.whalesafe.com


We look forward to connecting with you and answering your questions at the upcoming webinar. Please feel free to share widely with your networks.



Callie Steffen
Pronouns: She/Her
Benioff Ocean Initiative
University of California, Santa Barbara