Our research and monitoring project includes assessing the over all health of and risk to North Pacific humpback whales at both individual and population levels. We assess the health and body condition of the humpback whales using indicators such as is the whale’s body weight normal and healthy or is the whale showing signs of emaciation. We look for skin characteristics such as whale lice patches or infections, scarring from natural predators like orcas and sharks, and also manmade scars from entanglement in fishing gear and/or ship strike scars. We collect this data mainly by shooting above water still photos and videos from our research boat and from our two drones.
At times, we will also collect underwater data using underwater cameras, both surface mounted pole cams and underwater still and video cameras operated by our permitted in-water researcher team by taking advantage of our area’s clear waters, to help us perform a full-body health assessment.
We also study the relative abundance of humpback whales and how they use their habitat. Researchers identify individuals and track them over time by their flukes, which are as individual as fingerprints. As part of a regional collaboration and means to increase the scope of effort, we share our fluke IDs with Happywhale, a regional digital catalog.
One of the largest threats to whales is entanglement in fishing nets. To assess entanglement risk, we analyze the non-lethal entanglement rate for humpback whales in Hawaiʻi by evaluating photographs for scars consistent with prior non-lethal entanglement. Our studies show that in general, one in five humpback whales has scars indicative of being recently entangled.
Our 2023 research season included many highlights and achievements. First, we accomplished 24 Health and Risk Monitoring research cruises aboard the RV Koholā. Unfortunately we had to cancel 6 trips due bad weather. Yes, it was a challenging season as bad weather reared its ugly head for most of January.
On the 24 days we worked 131 groups of whales, comprising over 500 animals. From those animals we collected and submitted to our partner Happywhale and to our data set, 365 unique fluke IDs. We were also able to get enough photo-documentation coverage for our entanglement scar analysis from 150 whales. The preliminary scar rate value for the season lies at 13.2%. This value has generally continued to decline over the years.
As part, of NOAA Fisheries’ Office of Protected Resources’ goal of better understanding the energetic costs to impacted animals that had been entangled or ship-struck, we put more emphasis on non-invasive, multi-sensor, suction-cup tagging this season. In the end, we made 37 tag-attempts, successfully making 23 tag deployments. Twelve of the tags were deployed by drones with nearly a 50% success rate. Not bad for our first season emphasizing drone tag deployments.
In all, we collected over 35,000 images towards our overall non-invasive photo-documentation and assessment of the whales. We also collected numerous breath samples and photogrammetry via drones, and occassional skin samples all towards helping us quantify various risk factors, like entanglement, ship-strikes, contaminants from the Lahaina fire, changes in vessel traffic, etc..
We also did some all-important training. We got to fly both our drones and place tags on the whales with the larger drone with little to no disturbance to the whales while also collecting whale blow with our smaller drone for stress analysis and DNA testing.
So a big MAHALO to our crew, captains, and support teams that made it all possible. It is all so much appreciated. There will be more details in reports and papers that will be forthcoming.
Our research results have been delineated to the appropriate agencies in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Tonga. These agencies include the National Marine Fisheries Service (they develop whale-watch guidelines in the US), the US Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, the Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage, (they set whale-watch guidelines around humpback whales in Hervey Bay and other parts of Queensland, Australia), Whales Alive in Melbourne, Australia (this group is working in Tonga to develop guidelines for a new whale-watch industry there), and the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Ocean which is currently considering establishing regulations for whale-watching in Canada. These regulatory agencies can then use this objective information to develop whale watch guidelines that create the least disturbance to whales and will help to continue to preserve them and their habitats.
Collectively, our work has been disseminated via numerous newspaper and magazine articles and television coverage (CNN, ABC, CBS, and NBC).
