The cabled-to-shore hydrophone station at Point No Point is Quiet Sound’s flagship subsea acoustic infrastructure initiative. By deploying a permanent, continuous underwater listening station, this project establishes a high-fidelity marine soundscape data baseline to monitor ocean noise and protect the endangered Southern Resident Killer Whale (SRKW) population within a critical commercial shipping corridor. This includes measuring the acoustic benefit of Quiet Sound’s seasonal voluntary slowdown in Admiralty Inlet. 

Project Overview & Strategic Location

Commercial vessels transiting Admiralty Inlet pass directly through the waters off Point No Point in Kitsap County. Following an extensive site suitability modeling process led by technical consultants SMRU, Point No Point was selected as the optimal location for Phase 1 deployment based on three core technical factors:

1. Optimal Hydroacoustics: Immediate proximity to major commercial shipping lanes and deep-water acoustic propagation paths.
2. Favorable Subsea Conditions: Favorable sediment profiles and stable underwater current dynamics required for long-term sensor reliability.
3. High Biological Activity: A documented, high-use foraging and traveling corridor for SRKWs and other regional cetaceans.

Tribal Partnership & Treaty Rights: To ensure the project upholds regional treaty rights, Quiet Sound worked directly with local sovereign Tribal nations—including the Suquamish and Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribes—guaranteeing the deployment and operation of the system does not infringe on tribal fishing grounds.

Technical Capabilities & Data Impact

The permanent hydrophone installation shifts regional passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) from temporary, seasonal deployments to an uninterrupted, live data stream.

• Acoustic Baseline Modeling: SMRU Consulting deployed and recovered two autonomous SoundTraps at the site. SMRU is actively analyzing these baseline datasets to calibrate the permanent station against localized ambient noise and environmental conditions.
• Real-Time Automated Alerting: The permanent array runs automated digital signal processing (DSP) workflows via PAMGuard, utilizing reliable detector-classifier algorithms (such as the Lime Kiln algorithm) to isolate, verify, and stream cetacean vocalizations.
• Rapid API Integration: Verified acoustic detections generate instantaneous real-time alerts routed directly through the Whale Report Alert System (WRAS) API, delivering live proximity notices to pilots on their portable pilot units (PPUs) and commercial vessel operators.