Media release - 3 January
2013 - Environment Minister Tony Burke today
announced a new international collaboration
to share information on the rare Antarctic
blue and killer whales.
Mr Burke said the Australian
Marine Mammals Centre at the Australian
Antarctic Division has created a database
that allows Southern Ocean seafarers to
snap and share their photographs of these
rarely sighted whales and the more common
humpback whales to help obtain more information
on these majestic creatures.
Mr Burke said the database
aims to capture images of the whales to
help scientists better understand whale
abundance, distribution and behaviour.
"This is a chance
for people in the Southern Ocean to make
a valuable contribution to Australia's non-lethal
whale science and conservation research,"
Mr Burke said.
"Antarctic blue
and killer whales are not regularly encountered
in the Southern Ocean so we're appealing
to tourist vessels, commercial fishers,
or merchant seamen in the region to take
as many pictures of the whales as possible
and upload them to the new database."
"The pictures will
then be used, along with satellite tagging
and acoustic research, to provide a clearer
picture of the overall status and health
of whales in the region," he said.
Photographers need to observe minimum approach
distances, take high-resolution photographs,
record the date and location of the whale
and capture the whales' tails, sides and
fins to help with individual identification.
"Whale markings,
such as different colouration on the fins
and flukes, are like fingerprints in humans
and can be used to identify individuals,"
Mr Burke said.
"The scientists
will then be able to track where the whales
were sighted and their movement around the
Southern Ocean over time.
"This project contrasts
with so-called 'scientific whaling' where
the alleged research begins with a harpoon.
These innovative projects again show you
don't have to kill a whale to study it."
The images collected
will be sent to existing photo identification
catalogues in Chile and the United States.
This information will then be fed into the
International Whaling Commission.
The database project is part of the Southern
Ocean Research Partnership a collaboration
of 10 International Whaling Commission countries
dedicated to undertaking non-lethal whale
research.
Southern Ocean Research
Partnership aims to improve understanding
of the status, health, dynamics and environmental
linkages of whale populations, and the threats
they face.
Tips for whale identification photos
record the date, time, and location (latitude/longitude)
for the cetaceans that are photographed
always try to take photographs when the
sun is behind you (and not behind the whale)
when using a camera that has adjustable
settings, use shutter speeds of 1000 to
2000 or the 'sports/action' mode which allows
for a stop action effect when photographing
a moving whale
keep the aperture at 11 or higher as a greater
depth of field is often needed with a large
animal
ISO settings of 400 or 800 are best
record how many whales were present and
how many of those were photographed
remember to clearly mark which sightings
report each photograph relates to
