San Francisco Bay became a whale death trap. This new tech could help reverse the trend.

A gray whale’s spout rising near San Francisco’s tankers and ferries signals a growing crisis: ship strikes have killed 18% of gray whales entering the Bay since 2018, with seven deaths already recorded in 2026. The problem stems from climate change reducing Arctic prey, forcing starving whales to linger in the Bay, where they collide with vessels. To combat this, WhaleSpotter installed an AI-powered thermal imaging device on Angel Island on May 19, detecting whale spouts up to four miles away. The system works by scanning for heat signatures and verifying detections via WhaleSafe, a public platform where ship captains, law enforcement, and the public monitor whale locations in real time. Conservationists hope this will prompt captains to alter courses, mirroring successful trials in the Pacific Northwest for orcas and ongoing East Coast tests for endangered North Atlantic right whales. Gray whales migrate 12,000 miles annually from Arctic feeding grounds to Baja California breeding grounds, rarely eating outside the Arctic. Climate change has worsened food shortages, leaving whales emaciated by the time they reach San Francisco. ‘Skinny whales digging for food’ now define the Bay’s altered ecosystem, says Douglas McCauley, director of UC Santa Barbara’s Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory, who helped develop WhaleSafe. The device on Angel Island marks the first of a planned network, building on thermal imaging tech already used to protect orcas. If successful, it could reduce collisions in one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, offering a lifeline to a species struggling against both human activity and environmental shifts.