Conservation: How are buoys helping endangered whales?

Scientists are using robotic buoys like this one to help protect endangered whales

A new project is being launched which will see robotic buoys used to help protect rare whales from collisions with ships.

The North Atlantic right whale is one of the most endangered species of the large marine mammal, with only around 340 left in the world.

The buoys will be deployed off the east coast of the United States, which is one of the busiest stretches of ocean on the planet.

Scientists hope that the new technology will help track the animals faster so that action can be taken more quickly to reduce the risk of the whales being hit.

How do they work?

Experts believe there are only around 340 North Atlantic right whales left on the planet

Scientists at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in America have teamed up with one of the world's largest shipping businesses, CMA CGM, to deploy two robotic buoys off the east coast states of Virginia and Georgia.

The buoys are equipped with technology that can detect and report the sounds of the animals in near real-time.

Acoustic recorders have tracked whale sounds for many years but buoys that provide sound in near real-time are a relatively recent invention.

The robotic buoys will also make data available to scientists a lot faster - every couple of hours as opposed to months later which is usually the case.

How do they help?

The buoys have acoustic recorders which can detect and monitor the sounds of the whales

This data will then be able to be used by authorities to help make decisions about when to announce "right whale slow zones," making ships in the area slow down to 10 knots (11.5 miles per hour) or less.

The North Atlantic right whales were once a common sight off the US east coast.

Their population initially decreased due to hunting, whereas now numbers are dwindling as the creatures are vulnerable to ship collisions and entanglement in fishing gear.

The whales have been helped by a network of protected areas but scientists have reported that the whales have increasingly been straying outside of these protected areas in search of food as waters warm.