Cassidy Beach

BayQuest director Ray Duran, left, and Aquarium of the Bay biologist Deirdre Mcnulty, right, work to retrieve a hydrophone from the Pacific Ocean on Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025, near San Francisco, Calif. BayQuest’s SeaSounds Project will study the impacts of vessel interactions on the vocalization and behaviors of local whale populations. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)

How a group tracking sounds beneath Bay Area waters hopes to protect whales from shipping lanes

December 11, 2025 at 5:16 a.m.

Despite a dramatic rise in whale deaths in the Bay Area -- with 2025 already surpassing any year in the past-quarter century -- acoustic monitoring of marine mammals in and...

A California King Tides Project participant captured the king tides in January 2024 as they flooded Pleasure Point’s 30th Avenue stairs. (Courtesy California King Tides Project and California Coastal Commission)

King tides arrive: How experts and Bay Area residents are taking part in research

November 4, 2025 at 5:38 a.m.

The ocean takes center stage during the king tides, predicted to arrive in Santa Cruz Wednesday through Friday, and then again Dec. 4-6 and Jan. 1-3.

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