Season Report 1991 Dampier Archipelago Humpback Whale Project Western Australia.
Jenner K.C.S. and Jenner M-N.M. (1992).
Report prepared for the International Whaling Commission (Sc/44/o 8).
Abstract
During the 127 days of the 1991 field season off the Dampier Archipelago, northern Western Australia, 218 humpback whales were observed. Attempts were made to photograph, for each animal, the underside of the tail flukes and the shape and pigmentation of each side of the body. Of 206 whales photographed, 156 fluke photographs and 132 pairs of lateral body photographs were obtained. Three whales were resighted within the 1991 season while 4 whales have now been resighted between 1990 and 1991. A preliminary, conservative, Petersen estimate of the population resulted in 3300 (+134, -89) whales in the Group IV stock. A catalogue has been established and will be compared with existing collections in the northern and southern hemispheres. Observational data were recorded for each group of whales encountered. This is the second seasons’ data collected in a planned five year population estimate study for the Southern Hemisphere Group IV feeding stock.
