Quiet sound, a program of the nonprofit washington maritime blue (also referred to as maritime blue), aims to understand and mitigate the acoustic and physical impacts of large commercial vessels on…

Quiet sound, a program of the nonprofit washington maritime blue (also referred to as maritime blue), aims to understand and mitigate the acoustic and physical impacts of large commercial vessels on endangered southern resident killer whales (SRKW) in their critical habitat in washington waters. Quiet sound seeks to engage the people in washington's maritime sector who run, crew, pilot, own and administer large commercial vessels in an annual voluntary program to take protective measures for southern resident killer whales. The objective of this outreach program is to empower vessel operators to avoid ship strikes and mitigate acoustic impacts. This project will support SRKW conservation efforts by: 1) developing voluntary vessel measures with the engagement and support of the maritime sector 2) educating vessel pilots, crew, masters, operation centers, agents, and owners on what large vessels can do on the water to be safer for whales 3) tracking participation rates for adaptive management of the program over time 4) recognizing participation to build greater engagement for each annual cycle through this four-year project, we will reach our objective of an effective communication plan that enables vessel operators to act in support of srkws, and we will be working toward our overall goal of reducing the acoustic impact of large vessels on endangered killer whales in washington state waters. This project supports NOAA's 2021 species in the spotlight action plan for SRKW by protecting killer whales from harmful vessel impacts through education.