In an innovative effort to protect endangered orcas, scientists recently employed underwater fiber-optic cables in the Salish Sea. On October 10, 2025, a research team from the University of Washington began deploying over a mile of fiber-optic line into the chilly waters off San Juan Island, a region known for its population of approximately 75 Southern Resident orcas.
The team, working under the cover of darkness, carefully lowered the cable from the rocky shoreline to the seabed, where these majestic creatures make their home. This project utilizes a technology known as Distributed Acoustic Sensing, which effectively turns the fiber-optic cables into continuous underwater microphones. This setup is designed to capture and analyze the vocalizations of orcas, aiding researchers in determining their locations and tracking their movements more accurately.
Graduate student Isabelle Brandicourt was among those involved in the deployment process, meticulously fusing fibers on a barge before they were released into the water. Alongside her, Sam Juber, another graduate student at the university, contributed to the effort to assess whether these internet cables can effectively monitor the vocal communications of endangered orcas.
The Salish Sea, a critical habitat for these orcas, is not only vital for their survival but also serves as a significant ecological area. The deployment of this fiber-optic technology represents a promising step toward understanding the challenges faced by these marine mammals, including noise pollution and environmental changes.
As the team continues to monitor the orca population through this innovative technology, they hope to gather insights that could inform conservation strategies and protect these endangered species from further decline.
