Eyes open for migrating whales

Keep an eye out for southern right whales. The Conservation Department is calling on people to report sightings.

A mother and calf were seen travelling up from North Head and were south of Gulf Harbour on Thursday afternoon.

Recent sightings of whales near Dunedin, and one near Stewart Island, signalled the start of this year’s whale migration season and the beginning of the department’s southern right whale research programme.

"This is exciting – it’s a rare opportunity for members of the public to see large whales from the coast and to help DOC with crucial research," DOC national marine mammal co-ordinator Steve Smith says.

DOC’s challenge is to find as many whales as possible and do more research to better understand the relationship between the whales seen around the mainland and those from the New Zealand subantarctic region.

Whale sightings help DOC researchers retrieve tissue samples and other vital information.

DOC needs to collect genetic samples from 30 individual right whales, but only has 22.

The department is trying to learn more about the whales to ensure they have the right level of protection.

Since May 2003 an average of 70 southern right whale sightings have been reported each season.

"Hopefully with the public’s continued help we will be able to complete our research by the end of the year," Mr Smith says.

Adult southern right whales average 14.5 metres long, with newborn calves between 4.5 metres and 6 metres. They are mostly black and lack a dorsal fin, have a v-shaped blowhole spray and white growths on their heads called callosities. Each whale has a unique callosity pattern.

Southern right whale sightings should be reported to DOC as soon as possible after the sighting. Record the date, time and location of the sighting; the number of whales, whether there were any calves and their direction of travel.

Photos help identify individual whales, especially those of the left side of the head to compare callosity patterns, and of the full body length.

Whales should be approached slowly, quietly and cautiously, and no closer than 50 metres, preferably from behind or parallel to them. Boaties are requested not to obstruct their path, cut through a group or separate mothers from calves, and to turn off their engines if a whale approaches their vessel. Making sudden noises may startle the animals and should be avoided. Aircraft should keep a 150 metre distance from whales and not fly directly over them.

Find out more about the southern right whale on the Conservation Department’s website www.doc.govt.nz/conservation>native animals>marinemammals>whales.

Report sightings immediately on 0800 DOCHOT, 0800-36-24-68.

Inquiries, contact Steve Smith on (04) 471-3062.

The 'right' one to hunt

Southern right whales were hunted extensively along the coasts of New Zealand from the beginning of the 19th century with the population estimated at less than 5 percent of its pre-European levels.

These slow-travelling coastal whales were once so abundant in New Zealand waters that early settlers in Wellington complained the noise of their blowing kept them awake at night.

By 1936, when they became protected, they were on the verge of extinction.

They were named by early whalers because they are slow moving, float when dead and provided large quantities of valuable oil and whalebone, so they were the “right” whale to hunt.

The whales spend the summer feasting on small crustaceans north of Antarctica. In the winter and spring some of them move up to their breeding grounds near New Zealand’s subantarctic islands, with small numbers also seen around mainland New Zealand.

They stay close to the shore in sheltered waters, sometimes resting on the bottom with their blowholes above the surface.

A recent report has found that the stocks of southern right whales in New Zealand waters, eastern Australia and southwestern Australia are separate populations.

Continued investigations will determine whether individuals are moving between the two areas.