Beaked Whale Research 2008

Between May and October 2008 the Song of the Whale team are working in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean around the Canary Islands, the Azores, Madeira and off the coast of Portugal. The team is focusing mostly on beaked whales. There are at least 20 species of beaked whales but they are so difficult to observe that only a few have been studied in detail and some species have never been seen alive. Eleven species have been discovered since 1908, the latest being Perrin’s beaked whale in 2002 and it is highly possible that there are species of beaked whales yet to be discovered.

Although little is known about their lives and habits we know that they face many threats in all of the oceans of the world. In parts of the Pacific Ocean, beaked whales are hunted; further threats include the destruction of their habitat (particularly by deep sea trawling); reduction in prey/food (over-fishing); accidental entanglement in fishing nets (by-catch); and pollution in the sea (from chemical run-off and plastics, which they may accidentally ingest. Underwater noise pollution also poses a major threat to beaked whales. There is increasing evidence that they are particularly vulnerable to loud man-made sounds. The overall pattern of recent mass-strandings (when large numbers of whales end up dead or dying on beaches) has led to mounting concern that certain types of loud military sonar may result in the injury or death of beaked whales.

The rather sad fact is that most of us are more likely to see a dead beaked whale on a beach than a living one in the water. As the populations of most of the beaked whale species are officially listed as ‘data deficient’, there is a clear need to understand more about the lives and behaviours of these extraordinary and mysterious creatures in order to protect them.

During the season, the team will work to develop and use techniques to identify beaked whale habitat ‘hotspots’ that would benefit from protection from harmful human activities. Visual surveys will be undertaken, but as beaked whales are so hard to see, the team and collaborators also hope to develop equipment and computer software to detect them underwater from the sounds they make. The SOTW team will also be hosting local students and scientists onboard to work together and share information about the non-invasive techniques IFAW uses to study whales and their marine habitats.

Read the Song of the Whale team diaries listed to the left...

Map of the northeast Atlantic, showing the route of Song of the Whale in spring-autumn 2008. As the contour lines show, much of the region is very mountainous underwater. A body of anecdotal evidence suggests this habitat may be favourable to beaked whales. Special trials of acoustic detection equipment will be carried out at locations near the Azores and Canary Islands known to be frequented by beaked whales, and other little-known areas of sea around the islands will be surveyed for beaked whales and other cetaceans. Click to enlarge the map.