We'll look at water temperature, salinity and even chlorophyll growth. Ultimately, what we hope is to be able to identify a certain water mass and know that it will lead to chlorophyll growth and an abundance of plankton, and that the whales will soon appear.

I hope they don't try to take this duck to water. Indian runners don't swim.

There has been only one confirmed sighting of a right whale in the Gulf of Alaska since 1980, so discovering them is not only surprising, it is fairly significant. We picked up the sounds of one whale off Kodiak Island, and several others in deep water, which is also something of a surprise, since most right whale sightings have been near-shore.

There are a handful of records of people spotting sperm whales in the region -- and they're all in the summer. Likewise, all of the historic whaling records are from the summer. The Gulf of Alaska is not a place you want to be in the winter. But apparently, sperm whales don't mind.

When the water gets clearer than it used to be, then you can get a lot more algae growth.

The new growth areas are generally in areas that don't have sewers available or public water available. We're constantly expanding to meet the demand.