Background information

The term "Cetacean Ops" was first heard in the "background chatter" during "Yesterday's Enterprise". The subtitles for the episode on streaming services – including both Netflix and Amazon – as well as the TNG Season 3 Blu-ray release, give the facility's name as "station Ops."

According to the 1996 reference book Star Trek: The Next Generation USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D Blueprints, the cetacean ops facilities, including a cetacean navigation lab and four cetacean lifeboats, were located on Deck 13, with the navigation labs extending into Deck 14 as well. [2] Conceptual artwork at Andrew Probert's website shows that the facility may have been featured in the original version of Star Trek Online.

According to the Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual, the ship's dolphins work in navigation and are overseen by two whales of species Orcinus orca takayai, or Takaya's Whales. This references the 1988 anime OVA Gunbuster, where the starship Exelion uses dolphins for navigation due to their natural familiarity with moving in three dimensions; as well as the name of that series' protagonist, Noriko Takaya.