Australian Antarctic Whale Expedition returns

12:10 AM Thu 18 Mar 2010 GMT

'Researchers following humpback whale in the southern ocean' &copy Australian Antarctic Division 2008 Kingston Tasmania 7050

The world's largest, non-lethal whale research expedition has returned from Antarctic waters with a range of new information that will help inform future marine mammal conservation.

Environment Protection Minister Peter Garrett said that the joint Australia-New Zealand Antarctic Whale Expedition - with scientists from Australia, New Zealand and France - had achieved significant milestones during the six-week voyage in the Southern Ocean aboard the New Zealand National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research (NIWA) vessel R.V Tangaroa.

'The research undertaken on this expedition indicates that there are effective and achievable ways to collect a whole range of important whale data without the need to kill these mammals,' Mr Garrett said.

Expedition science leader, the Australian Antarctic Division's Dr Nick Gales, who heads the Australian Marine Mammal Centre, said a great deal of data was collected during the voyage.

'We have collected more than 60 biopsy samples, many photo-identifications of humpback whales and acoustics data. Additionally, 30 satellite tags were deployed on humpback whales. We are hoping these will provide movement data on the feeding grounds and migration routes back to the tropical breeding areas in winter.

'We now have a lot of new information to be processed and will spend the next couple of months analysing it to get a clearer picture on a range of important conservation science issues such as whale movement and feeding behaviour, defining migratory routes, and mixing patterns between different breeding populations,' Dr Gales said.

Humpback whale fluking up near Tangaroa in Southern Ocean - &copy Australian Antarctic Division 2008 Kingston Tasmania 7050

Mr Garrett said that research results from the voyage would be presented to the International Whaling Commission meeting in June in Morocco.

The Antarctic Whale Expedition is the first major project under the Southern Ocean Research Partnership, an Australian Government initiative established in 2009.

'We have invested more than A$14 million in the Partnership which now has 13 member countries.

'The Southern Ocean Research Partnership is part of the larger government allocation of A$32 million, over six years, of national and international non-lethal cetacean research.

Tangaroa back in port at Wellington. Photo: Dave Allen - &copy Australian Antarctic Division 2008 Kingston Tasmania 7050

'The plan developed under the Partnership has been endorsed as part of the scientific work program of the International Whaling Commission,' Mr Garrett said.

www.aad.gov.au/

About the Southern Ocean Research Partnership.

In 2008 Australia proposed to the International Whaling Commission (IWC) the development of regional non-lethal cetacean research partnerships. These research partnerships would use modern, non-lethal, scientific methods to provide the information necessary to best conserve and manage cetacean species. The proposal was received very positively by IWC member nations. The Australian Government is now supporting the development of a Southern Ocean Research Partnership (SORP) using non-lethal methods.

The Australian Government hosted the first planning workshop in March 2009 which was open to all nations and IWC-affiliated groups interested in contributing to the Southern Ocean Research Partnership. Details of the workshop are available below. The Southern Ocean Research Partnership (SORP) Workshop was held successfully during 23-26 March 2009 at the Australian National Maritime Museum, at Darling Harbour in Sydney, Australia. The 50 workshop participants included scientists of 16 nationalities, with formal representation from 12 countries (Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, France, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, Uruguay and USA) and several research and environment consortiums.

www.marinemammals.gov.au/southern-ocean-research-partnerships-sorp

by Australian Antarctic Division