People living on B.C.’s coast are offering up their private properties to host technology that can detect whales, in hopes of safeguarding the marine mammals that pass through.

Suzette Alvarez and Marshall Farris own an oceanfront property near Halfmoon Bay on the Sunshine Coast, where a live camera was installed underneath the deck of their house in May 2024.

The camera points out towards the Malaspina Strait, and a hydrophone was dropped into the ocean 20 metres deep, picking up underwater noise from vessels and animals.

“These animals are precious. They're magnificent ... and we need to do what we can to protect them,” Alvarez said.

A hydrophone was installed in the water about 20 metres deep, and the homeowners are paying for the power and internet connection themselves. (Raincoa

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