Whale Bioacoustics Model

Open weights Google Research,National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),Oregon State University September 2024

No estimate

No hardware requirements for this model

This model's weights are open, but no parameter count has been published for it. Every memory and speed figure starts from that number, so we would rather show nothing than a fabricated estimate.

On record

Full specification

Everything on record for this model. Most of it describes how it was trained rather than how it runs — useful context for judging how much work went into it, and how it compares with models built at a different scale.

Origin

Who built this model, where, and when it was published.

Organisation
Google Research,National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),Oregon State University
Organisation type
Industry,Government,Academia
Country
United States of America
Published
18 September 2024
Authors
Ann N. Allen, Matt Harvey, Lauren Harrell, Megan Wood, Angela R. Szesciorka, Jennifer L. K. McCullough, Erin M. Oleson

What it does

The problem areas the model was built for. A model can carry several of each.

Domain
Audio
Task
Audio classification

Size

How large the model is and how much data it was trained on. Parameters are the figure that decides whether it fits on a given graphics card.

Training data
tokens

"200,000 hours of underwater recordings"

Availability

Whether you can obtain the model and run it on your own hardware, which is what decides if any of the graphics-card figures on this page apply.

Weights
Open — downloadable
Model access
Open weights (non-commercial)
Training code
Open source

"This model has been developed as part of the AI for Nature and Society program at Google. The developers request that users adhere to Google’s AI principles, in particular #1 “Be socially beneficial." in only pursuing applications which have societal and/or environmental benefit, as well as wildlife conservation for not-for-profit decision-making, education, or research. (The official license remains Apache 2.0.)" https://github.com/google-research/perch

How it is classified

Labels the source dataset applies when tracking notable models, and how confident it is in the entry.

Record confidence
Unknown

Sources

Where this record came from and when it was last checked.

Reference
Whistles, songs, boings, and biotwangs: Recognizing whale vocalizations with AI
Last updated
28 November 2025

What the numbers mean

Where it came from

Whale Bioacoustics Model was published by Google Research,National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),Oregon State University, in United States of America, in September 2024. The organisation is categorised as industry,Government,Academia.

It works in Audio, and is recorded as doing audio classification.

The weights are published, so it can be downloaded and run on your own hardware indefinitely, offline, with no account attached.

Answers

Whale Bioacoustics Model — common questions

01

Where can I download Whale Bioacoustics Model?

The weights for Whale Bioacoustics Model are published, though we do not hold a repository link for it. This site calculates hardware requirements rather than hosting model files.

02

What GPU do I need to run Whale Bioacoustics Model?

We cannot say. Whale Bioacoustics Model has open weights, but no parameter count has been published for it, and every memory and speed calculation starts from that number. We would rather show nothing than a fabricated estimate.

03

Is Whale Bioacoustics Model open source?

Its weights are published, so Whale Bioacoustics Model can be downloaded and run on your own hardware. Note that open weights is not the same as open source in the full sense — it says nothing about the training data, the training code, or the commercial terms attached.

04

How many parameters does Whale Bioacoustics Model have?

No parameter count has been published for Whale Bioacoustics Model, which is why no memory or speed figure appears on this page.

05

Who created Whale Bioacoustics Model?

Whale Bioacoustics Model was published by Google Research,National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),Oregon State University, based in United States of America, categorised as industry,Government,Academia.

06

When was Whale Bioacoustics Model released?

Whale Bioacoustics Model was published in September 2024. Capability per parameter has improved considerably since, so a newer model of the same size is often the better use of the same hardware.

07

What is Whale Bioacoustics Model used for?

Whale Bioacoustics Model works in Audio, and is recorded as handling audio classification. A model can carry several of each, so these are the areas it was built for rather than a limit on what it will attempt.

Source

Original publication

Record last updated 28 November 2025

The other direction

Looking at it from the other side?

This page starts from the model. If you already own a card and want to know everything it will run, start from the hardware instead.