Porphal whales in danger: New warning system protects marine mammals!

Scientists from the German Sea Museum in Stralsund have developed an innovative device called Pal (Porpoise Alert), which aims to warn pork whales of the dangers of fishing nets. In the waters of the Baltic Sea, these animals often get tangled in the nets and drown, which endangers their population. The new device is attached directly to fishing nets and imitates the warning signals of fellow species by clicking sounds.

The main goal of this technology is that the pork whales become more vigilant and recognize the networks at an early stage without having to avoid entire areas. In contrast to older devices, which showed noise and made the surroundings unattractive, the pals should imitate the natural click sounds of the pork whales in order to positively influence their behavior. The researchers work closely with the Thünen Institute for Baltic Sea fishing and experts from Schleswig-Holstein, Denmark and Sweden.

First results and further tests

In order to check the effectiveness of the pals, microphones were installed under water to record the click noises of the whales. The first data indicate that the pork whales near the PAL devices are not sold and the frequency of the click sounds even increases the closer they get to the devices. However, it remains unclear whether the whales get used to the technology and thus become more careless. As part of the studies, both investigations are made in the German Baltic Sea and off the Danish coast.

In Denmark, the pals are not yet in use, while they are already being tested in Germany. The final results of this comprehensive investigation have been announced for April this year. In addition to the current examination, an acoustic warning system is also being developed, which has already reduced the by -pork whale by 70 percent in earlier test phases, as the Baltic Sea Report website reports.

The sustainable avoidance of befang is central to the protection of species of the endangered pork whales in the North and Baltic Sea, since fishing owner networks represent the main threat to this species. Together with the advantages for the fishermen, such as fewer network damage and reduced time expenditure when catching up the networks, this development contributes significantly to the protection of biodiversity in fishing waters.

As early as 2014 and 2016, PAL devices were successfully tested in commercial fishing in the western Baltic Sea, and according to these positive results, the concept is now being further developed and also tested in the North Sea and in the North Atlantic. The aim of the follow -up projects is to optimize the acoustic properties of the warning system by adjusting the hardware and software to prevent further by -catching.