Mammals of mystery

Each year a group of former Marlborough whalers, researchers and volunteers congregate at Tory Channel to study one of the world's most mysterious mammals. MAIKE VAN DER HEIDE looks at why the Cook Strait humpback whale survey has so successfully captured the public's imagination.

The water is blue and flat, the crisp, white windmills on Wellington's coast perfectly visible on the other side of Cook Strait, and there's not a cloud in the sky; it's perfect weather for spotting whales.

Shame, then, there's none in sight.

In a purpose-built hut atop Arapawa Island in Tory Channel, four old whalers sit silently, their concentration tangible. All the men sit on homemade, custom-built chairs and peer through mounted binoculars.

On one of the chairs, a drinking straw peeks out of a travel mug presumably filled with hot tea. The owner of the mug will neither confirm nor deny the contents.

As the binoculars scan the water, a boat of researchers waits in Okukari Bay below. As soon as one of the whalers spots a spout, the boat will be out chasing it, armed with cameras and gear to retrieve a tissue sample.

This is the annual Cook Strait humpback whale count, now in its sixth year. Every year the old whalers return to help research animals they once hunted, to help establish how the populations are faring since commercial whaling stopped in New Zealand waters in 1964.

But today the whales seem intent on retaining their mystery and no spouts are sighted.

And despite six years' worth of data from the annual surveys during the peak of the whales' northern migration, it has not been enough to establish what the whales are actually doing and why.

The survey leader, Department of Conservation Wellington conservancy marine ecologist Nadine Bott, says only once has a single whale been spotted in different years. That was in 2004 and 2008.

It might be that they are passing through at different times during winter, depending on tides, water temperatures or other factors, Nadine says.

Back on land, six years has been more than enough time for traditions to be set in the hut where the whalers sit. As well as the who-can-spot-the-most-whales competition, there's the construction and imaginative adaptation of the whalers' chairs, not to mention the colourful woollen hats Tommy and Johnny Norton show up in every year they're so bright the whales can probably see them from Cook Strait.

Every winter Joe Heberley, Basil Jones, Peter, Ron and Ted Perano and Tommy and Johnny Norton base themselves at the head of Tory Channel to watch for the whales.

The whalers themselves are among the many factors that have seen this whale count capture the imagination of a region and even of a nation.

There are all sorts of wildlife surveys and research programmes in full swing in most corners of New Zealand, but the whale survey has caught the attention of the public more than most.

First and foremost are, of course, the whales. People like whales.

Then there is the added charm of the old whalers.

"Hard case" is the portrayal that often arises from anyone describing them, a description that is well earned.

Who would have thought these men, most of them well into retirement age, would return to the very place they spent days, years even, on the hill watching for whales, before heading out into the wild seas with massive harpoons to kill them?

The whalers themselves never thought they'd be back. Some of them even admit they are quietly pleased that once they've spotted the elusive spout, they don't have to rush down the hill to slaughter the passing animal.

And then there's Nadine, the survey leader.

Blonde, blue-eyed, personable and passionate about marine mammals, Nadine has put countless hours and piles of energy into the project she spearheaded with marine mammal scientist Simon Childerhouse.

Nadine says the project has drawn in an entire community, something she hoped would happen. But even she never thought it would happen so quickly and so successfully.

It's not only the whaling families, well known in Marlborough, that have been included. Local DOC staff, Dolphin Watch Ecotours which for years lent their boat to the project and volunteers from the Marlborough community have all been up the hill to help out or just visit.

When the old whalers suggested to DOC that their flapping old tent that somehow withstood the challenging elements on East Head be replaced with a hut, building materials were donated or sold at a discount by local businesses; the Marlborough District Council also jumped on board.

Johnny Norton provided the carpentry skills and Joe Heberley and sons James and Joe provided labour. Unsuspecting Heberley family friends also found themselves with tools in hand.

The involvement and interest from so many people brings a smile to Nadine's face.

Standing on a muddy track between gorse and scrub overlooking Tory Channel, she rolls off a list of names of people who have given time, expertise and materials to the project.

Though she loves the involvement, Nadine admits that handing tasks to other people was originally a bit challenging.

"At the start it was my baby, but over the years I've relaxed a bit," she grins.

"I wanted people to really get something out of the project. It's not just about the whales it's being a team and being out in the wilderness."

Nadine is 34, yet already has a wealth of experience working with whales. But it comes as a surprise to hear that Nadine is in fact a freshwater expert, which sees her working with the often tiny creatures that live in New Zealand's streams and lakes. Interestingly, her father is also employed by DOC in the same capacity.

Nadine is the conservancy officer for the wider Wellington region, where she supervises five other staff.

Her focus on marine mammals, Nadine says, is only a small part of her overall workload, but it's one she is passionate about.

"It's what most people associate me with," she says.

Nadine's background with marine mammals is extensive.

What started as a course in zoology and physiology at Massey University in Palmerston North turned into a study of mammalian physiology at Massey's veterinary department, which was also where she completed her master's degree, studying the anatomy of fur seals and pilot whales.

Nadine has been to the subantarctic Auckland Islands, Campbell Island, Tonga, Fiji and Samoa studying New Zealand fur seals and whales.

But eventually she realised that everything she had done so far was for other people, when in fact she felt ready to launch a project all of her own.

The idea for the whale survey turned up when New Zealand was criticised at the International Whaling Commission for its anti-whaling stance when nothing was really known about its whale population.

Nadine decided to do something about that gap in knowledge.

DOC commissioned her to look into humpback whales around New Zealand waters. Her report was based on whale sightings made by other people. From that, she learned the best whale spotting sites were in Foveaux Strait in summer and Cook Strait in winter, so rather than relying on other people's sightings, she decided to organise her own.

Through DOC Sounds area manager Roy Grose, Nadine was put in contact with former whaler Joe Heberley. With the whalers' help, the first two-week whale survey was held in winter of 2004.

It was a bumper year for whales: 47 were counted and six others, some identified as blue whales, were seen.

But the next year numbers dropped dramatically, to just 18. In 2006 just 15 whales were seen. Then in 2007 the team counted 25 humpbacks and one southern right whale, a particularly rare species.

And then the funding ran out.

DOC had parted with just four years of survey funding from its limited research budget, so Nadine set out to find other sources of revenue.

Simon Childerhouse had left the project in 2007 to work on his PhD in Otago, so Nadine took over leadership of the project alone.

She found sponsorship with Austria-based oil and gas company OMV New Zealand and Transact Management and the survey was bumped up from two to four weeks.

Last year the extended survey paid off: 37 humpback whales and four pygmy blue whales were sighted.

So far this year, 30 have been spotted since the survey kicked off on June 13. It winds up on Saturday.

For Nadine, though the actual count is only a month out of a year, the project is a huge part of her life. So are the people involved: Nadine has fostered a close relationship with all the old whalers, particularly the Heberley family, who still lives on Arapawa Island.

She even brought the family of her new husband, David Bott, to the island after their wedding to meet Joe and Heather Heberley in fact, Arapawa Island was where David proposed, yes, during a whale survey.

While funding has only been secured until next year, Nadine hopes the whale survey will continue for at least another three years after that.

But between all the data collecting, analysing and organising funding, she sometimes has to remind herself to step back and appreciate the reason she spends a month each winter in windy, freezing Cook Strait: the whales.

Standing on a boat watching a huge whale breach, its massive body breaking from the water as it leaps upwards is not something everyone is lucky enough to see and Nadine admits she has to remember to stop and appreciate the great sight.

But then it's back to work, because Nadine won't rest until she has all the clues she needs to uncover the humpback whales secret lives.

"We know so little."

- The Marlborough Express