MARINE HYDROPHONE

Oceanic Eco Tours uses a hydrophone to listen to dolphins and whales on our tours when the right conditions present. The Hydrophone is an underwater microphone specially designed to listen in on the communication of the different cetacean species we encounter on our San Diego dolphin and whale watching tours. Using the hydrophone, we can pick up the songs, chirps, squeals and unique codas of the different dolphins and whales. This is a way to enjoy more wonderful observations on our tours.

Imagine floating next to a pod of hundreds of dolphins and not only observing their activity, but listening to their communications as they forage, travel, or socialize. The hydrophone allows us to more deeply immerse our guests in the thrill of whale watching with a more complete experience. You can learn the sounds of the different species of whales and dolphins, while gaining a greater understanding of their complex lives and the importance of minimizing acoustical disturbance in the cetaceans environment.

Some of the ways Oceanic Eco Tours helps to protect and conserve the whales and dolphins is by limiting our sound footprint. We have a smaller boat at just 24 feet which creates less environmental noise. We have a brand new Yamaha engine outboard motor, which lowers our noise pollution in the underwater environment. We operate our whale watching boat at very slow speeds around the cetaceans, keeping the engine noise low and minimizing potential acoustic conflict. If the conditions are good to use the hydrophone, we will be shutting off the motor to minimize ambient noise.