Media
release - New data on minke whale distribution
in pack ice in the Southern Ocean and new
techniques developed by Australian scientists
for researching whale abundance further
advance Australia's global leadership in
non-lethal whale research, Environment Minister
Peter Garrett said today.
Mr Garrett outlined
the research conducted by scientists at
the Australian Marine Mammal Centre located
at the Australian Antarctic Division, and
scientists from CSIRO Mathematical and Information
Sciences ahead of the first meeting of the
Southern Ocean Research Partnership in Sydney.
"The Southern Ocean
Research Partnership represents the biggest
international research effort on Southern
Ocean whales yet undertaken," Mr Garrett
said.
"With scientists
and experts from around the world gathering
in Sydney today for the first time to discuss
the Partnership, this Australian study will
help inform the future of whale science
and offers a new perspective on the numbers
and distribution of minkes in and around
the Antarctic sea-ice.
"The data collected
and the research techniques involved will
make a major contribution to global understanding
of whales and will be presented at the next
meeting of the International Whaling Commission
in June as a further example of the innovative,
nonlethal research that Australia is championing
as the way forward for whale research in
the future," he said.
CSIRO Mathematical and
Information Sciences Research Fellow Dr
Natalie Kelly, who ran the survey operations
in Antarctica, said the aerial survey program
was conducted using CASA 212-400 aircraft
with one flight leader and four observers
onboard to count whales from the air.
"This data is then
combined with information from high-definition
video cameras, a highresolution digital
stills camera and an infrared camera installed
in the base of the aircraft to detect whales
hidden from view by the ice, helping provide
a really comprehensive analysis of minke
whales in the pack ice and their use of
various pack-ice habitats." The survey
area was based on a 600 nautical mile flying
range from a skiway near Casey station and
the survey route was systematically designed
to capture a wide range of sea ice concentrations.
"Flying was conducted
over a three week period, with some down
time due to bad weather. The survey officially
finished in the evening of 31 December,
with a total of 4,448 nautical miles flown
over 41 hours' of data were collected over
nearly 3,000 nautical miles of the survey
route with a number of areas repeated,"
said Dr Kelly.
Dr Nick Gales, Leader
of the Australian Marine Mammal Centre said
ship-based surveys in the Southern Ocean
over the past two decades had found increasing
evidence of a possible decline in minke
whale abundance.
"The IWC has been
counting whales in the Southern Ocean since
1978 and evidence of a decline was obviously
of increasing concern. However it is difficult
to know whether the decline is genuine or
if it is due to the limitations of the ship-based
survey technique.
"Changes in distribution
of sea ice each year, and changes in the
number of minke whales present within the
ice zone, particularly in the pack ice where
the survey ships cannot penetrate, could
be responsible for some of the changes in
the number of whales seen in the open water.
"This new survey
technique employing the latest technology
will help us overcome those barriers. The
results will be presented, along with the
latest ship-based estimates of minke whale
abundance at this year's IWC meeting in
Madeira in June.
"We are currently
working on transcribing audio and video
files from the flights and so far we're
delighted with how the video and photographic
equipment functioned to compile this novel
data," Dr Gales said.
The Southern Ocean Research
Partnership meeting is being held:
Where: Australian National
Maritime Museum, Darling Harbour, Sydney
When: 23 - 26 March,
2009
The first morning -
23 March - is open to the media and public.
Media are invited to
hear Mr Garrett speak at the event who will
be available for interview afterwards.
Further information
is available at: http://www.marinemammals.gov.au/iwc-initiatives/southern-ocean-research-partnershipssorp
+ More
Whale workshop to forge
science partnership
Media release - Environment
Minister Peter Garrett today said he was
very pleased that Sydney was this week hosting
the world's first international workshop
on non-lethal whale research.
Mr Garrett said Australia
was taking the lead to better manage the
whales of the Southern Ocean and in the
process, show the world that scientific
research on whales could be done without
resorting to lethal measures.
"This is about
building the world's most comprehensive
whale research partnership with countries
interested in developing an agreed scientific
approach to research - one that doesn't
involve killing whales," Mr Garrett
said.
"This week, 13
nations with a common interest in the Southern
Ocean will work with scientists and specialists
on an agreed approach to take us to a future
where conservation of whales is the focus
of science.
"This is an opportunity
for us all to examine current Southern Ocean
research efforts, discuss research priorities,
identify knowledge gaps, and map out how
to build a scientific research program based
on non-lethal methods.
"By the end of
the week, we hope to have a draft five-year
plan to present at the International Whaling
Commission when it next meets in Portugal
this June.
"Ultimately, we
want the IWC to become more science and
conservation-focused and we believe the
Southern Ocean Research Partnership is the
best way to achieve this. This first workshop
builds on the comprehensive reform agenda
for the Commission that we are continuing
to advance and which continues to receive
good support from other nations, including
most recently at the Rome intersessional."
he Australian Government
has committed more than $14 million to create
and fund the Southern Ocean Research Partnership
from $32 million in funds directed at non-lethal
whale and cetacean research.
Countries participating
in this week's workshop are Australia, Argentina,
Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, France, Germany,
Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, South
Africa, USA.
The workshop is being
held at the Australian National Maritime
Museum in Darling Harbour.
