Sunshine Coast Underwater Listening Station

Acoustic research and outreach in new waters

The Listening Station features a hydrophone – an underwater microphone – sitting at roughly 20m depth on the seafloor. These finely-tuned instruments detect a range of frequencies that enable us to hear whales, dolphins, fish and – importantly – anthropogenic noise from vessels and industrial activity. This area of the coast has been under-sampled acoustically, with few hydrophones collecting long-term data. Our goals are to monitor the presence of at-risk cetacean species in the area by detecting their vocalizations, to track noise levels and potential impacts from boats and other human activities, and to bring the sounds of this ocean environment to residents of the Sunshine Coast. Bigg’s killer whales are often seen in the area year-round, hunting or travelling along the shoreline. In the fall, humpback whales are often seen close to shore, using the up-welling currents to feed on small fish and plankton. If we’re lucky – we’ll hear them sing!