The $30 million toe in the water

A new thermal camera system using AI aims to prevent deadly ship collisions as the whale population declines .

The system, developed by a coalition of marine scientists and local officials, uses a thermal camera on an island in the bay to detect heat from the whales' exhalations.

Potential whale sightings are screened by artificial intelligence and then confirmed by human screeners.

The U.S. Coast Guard can then use that information to alert vessels and ships .

Why 4,000 unsold units became the prize

Gray whales are increasingly appearing in San Francisco Bay, a detour they make during their migration from Mexico to Alaska.

They seem to be searching for food, as changing ocean conditions reduce the availability of their normal prey in the Arctic.

Gray whales used to be a rare sight in San Francisco Bay.

An echo of Sydney's 2024 institutional buy-up

The same trend is happening in other areas .

Researchers have found evidence that several gray whales seen in San Francisco Bay this year have died due to ship strikes.

With some whales now hanging out in the bay for weeks, a coalition of marine scientists and local officials are trying out a new system to prevent collisions.

Who is the unnamed buyer?

The current population of gray whales in the North Pacific is around 13,000, half of what it was a decade ago.

Last year, the number of gray whales in the larger San Francisco Bay Area was the highest in 25 years.

On a beach on Angel Island, the giant vertebrae of three whales lie in a row on the sand.

A familiar pattern from the 2019 crash

Gray whales undertake one of the longest migrations of any mammal , traveling around 12,000 miles roundtrip every year.

They spend the summers feeding in the cold waters of the Arctic , where prey is abundant .

But lately, that's been harder to do.