Perth Canyon Pygmy Blue Whale Season 2021

The First Trip

The CWR Team in collaboration with AIMS (Dr Michele Thums) has began the 2021 Pygmy Blue Whale Satellite-Tagging Season in the Perth Canyon, Western Australia on April 20, 2021.

The CWR Team has observed many whales in these offshore waters over the last 20 years and recent encounters this summer indicate pygmy blue whales have been present and feeding there since February. Now in mid-Autumn, these pygmy blue whales are stocking up on krill and finding a travelling companion for the long journey from the Perth Canyon in Western Australia to the Banda Sea in Indonesia along the Western Australian coast.

The satellite tags allow us to track the movement of the whales to understand not only their use of the Perth Canyon, but their utilization of the north-western Australian coast during their annual northern and southern migrations.

This study is part of AIMS’ North West Shoals to Shore Research Program and was supported by Santos as part of the company’s commitment to better understand Western Australia’s marine environment.

Photo: Micheline Jenner/CWR

 

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