Research Shows Whales' Surprising Travels

Humpback whales from the South Pacific take different, winding routes to their summer feeding grounds in the Antarctic, often making several stops along the way, according to new research from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Researchers tagged 20 humpback whales earlier this year off New Caledonia, a large island territory of France east of Australia, and the Cook Islands, a group of 15 islands east of American Samoa. By tracking the tagged whales by satellite, scientists hope to learn more about the creatures' migratory habits in the Southern Hemisphere's summertime. Although only 10 of the 20 tags are still operating, they've already provided researchers with a wealth of new information about how and where the humpback whales travel.

"The tagged whales provided fascinating surprises for the research team almost immediately," said Phil Clapham of NOAA Fisheries Service's Alaska Fisheries Science Center. "The whales are telling us where they go, and we have already learned new things about their preferred habitats and migratory routes."

While some South Pacific humpback whale populations, such as those off the coasts of Australia, have bounced back from whaling in the past century, others are still struggling. Populations that are still fighting to come back include those from New Caledonia and the Cook Islands, as well as those from Fiji and New Zealand. Whales in those areas were intensively hunted in the 1950s and '60s, with many taken in illegal whaling operations by the former Soviet Union.

By better understanding the whales' migratory habits, scientists hope to identify the ocean areas most important to the marine mammals' ongoing survival.

The NOAA researchers, working with scientists from several other institutions, have already learned that a seamount system southeast of New Caledonia is an important habitat to the humpback whales. Several of the tagged whales from New Caledonia were found to have spent a considerable amount of time there before continuing their migration.

Most of the tagged whales from the Cook Islands started their journeys by heading west toward or north of Tonga -- another revelation to scientists who previously knew little about the Cook Islands' humpback whales' migratory habits.

Tagging humpback whales presents far greater challenges than tagging wolves or bears, according to NOAA. Tags can't be attached with harnesses, so researchers have to implant the devices deep in the whale's thick outer layer of blubber. Even then, some tags work their way free in a matter of days or weeks, which is why only half of the original 20 tags are still transmitting data to the research team.

"We hope that they will continue to transmit for weeks or months, showing the final destinations of these animals as they undertake their long migration from the tropics to the cold waters of the Southern Ocean," said Clapham.

Other researchers in the whale research effort come from Operation Cetaces in New Caledonia, Cook Islands Whale Research and Instituto Aqualie. The project was funded largely by Greenpeace International, which supports critical, non-lethal research on humpback whale populations at risk from whaling and other threats.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, "Satellite Tags on Humpback Whales Expose Unknown Migration Routes." URL: (http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2007/20071012_whaletag.html)