[1] It's feeding time for humpback whales off of California's Central Coast. - Oh, I just saw a whale! - Really?

[2] Kate Spencer is our boat captain. - Yes, indeedy! Monterey Bay is like the best restaurant in a food court.

[3] Through the summer and fall, humpbacks dine on anchovies and krill to prepare for the trip to Mexico's warmer waters, where the whales breed.

[4] Oh, whales behind us! - Making this prime time for scientist Ted Cheeseman. - There they are! They can eat 10 to 20,000 pounds a day. so they're literally eating up to 20% of their body weight in a day!

[5] Before you see the whales, you can actually smell them, because after feasting on anchovies, their breath has a unique aroma. - An aroma that had seemingly vaporized a mere 50 years ago.

[6] Once hunted to near extinction, whales are now resurfacing here in Monterey Bay in dramatic numbers.

[7] Now, with just a camera, photos from scientists and the public, are helping researchers track whales from anywhere around the world.

[8] Thanks to artificial intelligence in real time, Cheeseman can match their tails or flukes, which tell stories of where the whales have been and how healthy they are.

[9] The pictures are uploaded and matched on Cheeseman's website, Happy Whale. - This photo identification has been around for 50 years, but what we've done is automated it so that we can just gather as much data as possible. - So, all of today's photos.

[10] Through AI, that image is matched to other whales already photographed, like this one called Oldtimer and Monae.

[11] Our last recorded sighting of Monae was back in February down in Baja, Mexico.

[12] In his lab, Cheeseman says it is facial recognition technology that makes this possible.

[13] The AI image recognition extracts all the signals in there. Like, if you imagine on our face, I have kind of a big nose, that's part of the signal, right? Or, all the different features that it can pull detail out of to look for a similar photo.

[14] Now, is it true that no two whale tails are alike? - Absolutely. like a fingerprint or a face, every humpback whale's tail is distinct.

[15] And AI makes that recognition fast. - How long does it take you per photo? - We don't measure the time, it's instantaneous.

[16] Over 100,000 humpbacks identified. Some migrate thousands of miles, navigating threats from fishing lines and waters warmed by climate change, making food harder to find.

[17] Warmer waters produce less food, and so there's less fish. Less fish, less food for the whales.

[18] But Cheeseman says the most valuable information gained may be human. - "You connect with one whale, it connects you with the whole ocean. To have that healthy ocean, we have to treat it like it's part of our home. It's like it's a place we care about."

[19] Using technology to connect and preserve the ocean for everyone and everything.

[20] Before AI, identifying the whales was a time-consuming process. Cheeseman actually had to look at photos with his own eyes and try to see if they matched. It was an imprecise science.

[21] Now, technology allows for much more precision, and Cheeseman says if you want to help out, the best pictures come from cameras with telephoto lenses. I'm Anne Thompson in New York. Now, back to you!