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Harbor porpoises are typically seen in small groups of 1–3 individuals, with aggregations of 20+ individuals treated as rare events. Since the 1990s, the harbor porpoise population in the Salish Sea has seen a significant recovery, and an increased number of observed aggregations that exceed the more usual small group sizes has been observed in recent years. By combining the observational data of United States and Canadian research organizations, community scientists, and whale watch captains or naturalists, we demonstrate that harbor porpoise aggregations appear to be more common than previously known, with 160 aggregations documented in 2022 alone. Behavioral data also indicate that foraging behaviors are common and social behaviors, like mating, are seen more often during these encounters compared to small groups. Other behaviors that are considered to be rare or unknown were also observed during these encounters, including cooperative foraging and vessel approach. These aggregations are likely important foraging and social gatherings for harbor porpoises. This holistic approach integrating data from two countries and multiple sources provides a population level assessment that more effectively reflects the behavior of harbor porpoises in this region, which do not recognize the socio-political boundaries imposed upon the natural world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Humpback whales in the western North Pacific are considered endangered due to their small population size and lack of information. Although previous studies have reported interchanges between regions within a population, the relationship between the geographic regions of a population in Japan is poorly understood. Using 3,532 fluke photo IDs of unique individuals obtained from four areas in Japan: Hokkaido, six IDs (2009–2019); Ogasawara, 1,477 IDs, from two organizations (1) Everlasting nature of Asia (1987–2020) and (2) Ogasawara Whale Watching Association, (1990–2020); Amami, 373 IDs (1992–1994, 2005–2016); Okinawa, 1,676 IDs (1990–2018), interchanges were analyzed. The ID matchings were conducted using an automated system with an 80.9% matching accuracy. Interchange and within-region return indices were also calculated. As a result, number of matches and interchange indices follow locations, Hokkaido-Okinawa (3, 0.31), Amami-Ogasawara (36, 0.06), Amami-Okinawa (222, 0.37), and Okinawa-Ogasawara (225, 0.08), respectively. Interchange indices among Japanese areas were much higher than the indices between Ogasawara/Okinawa and Hawaii (0.01) and Mexico (0.00) reported in previous studies, indicating that the Japanese regions are utilized by the same population. At the same time, the frequency of interchanges among the three breeding areas vary, and the high within-region return indices in respective breeding areas suggest the site fidelity of the whales in each area at some level. These results indicate the existence of several groups within the population which are possibly be divided into at least two groups based on geographical features: one tend to utilize Ogasawara and the Mariana Archipelago; the other utilize Amami, Okinawa, and the Philippines, migrating along the Ryukyu and Philippine Trench. The matching results also suggest that Hokkaido is possibly be utilized as a corridor between northern feeding areas and southern breeding areas at least by individuals migrating to Okinawa area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individuals from cetacean populations regularly using inshore waters can be more vulnerable to anthropogenic pressures than those living in offshore areas. The monitoring of Good Environmental Status within the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) requires assessing demographic parameters of these local populations. Therefore, a two-step framework was developed for this monitoring and applied to a long-term photo-identification database of short-finned pilot whales in the inshore waters of Madeira. First, a standardized method to identify site fidelity structures based on K-means analysis was used to determine the local population, i.e., individuals with higher site fidelity. Then, demographic parameters were estimated over 15 years using a robust design model. Finally, the effect of increasing whale watching boats as a potential threat was tested. The results revealed no temporary emigration, showing that the site fidelity methodology could accurately identify the local population. Adult survival rates were high and abundance estimates were stable. Therefore, these results should be used as a baseline for future MSFD cycles. No negative effect of whale watching was found on demographic parameters for adult individuals. However, young animals, which could be more vulnerable to local pressures, were not fully included in the analysis, and potential effects on reproduction output were not studied. Therefore, an adverse effect of whale watching on the local population cannot be ruled out. This monitoring framework should be applied to other species and study areas to confirm its wide application to help management decisions reaching better conservation status for cetacean species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The social-ecological change in the Arctic is accelerated by the multifaceted effects of climate change and globalization. Among other things, this means changing human-ecosystem dynamics through altered availability, co-production, and governance of ecosystem services (ES). A group of species illustrative of this change are whales, migratory species that have played an important part in the culture and subsistence of Arctic communities for millennia. This study explores the changing human-nature interactions and whale ES governance by combining ES and interactive governance theories. A multi-method approach is applied to assess qualitatively the qualitative governability of whale ES in three Arctic coastal locations: Húsavík in Iceland, Andenes in Norway, and Disko Bay in Greenland. Based on a literature review, stakeholder mapping, observations, and analysis of 54 semi-structured stakeholder interviews, the study finds that whale ES governance involves multiple actors with differing preferences and values and that much of it happens outside of formal institutions, necessitating inclusive approaches to improve it. The study reveals some whale ES governance deficiencies and potentials, such as a mismatch between governance scales and a need for more formal governance practices based on scientific research and stakeholder inputs. Governance frameworks were present for provisioning whale ES related to whaling, but they were lacking for non-consumptive whale ES, such as whale watching. Addressing these issues can help to direct marine resource management toward sustainability by making it more inclusive, adaptive, and reflective of stakeholder needs and values. This goal could be advanced by applying the governance principles that view humans as an integral part of social-ecological systems, e.g., ecosystem stewardship and ecosystem-based management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the discussion on Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) being cosmopolitan and highly migratory animals. Topics include found in all ocean basins and annually migrating between low-latitude waters; and growing evidence of humpback whales feeding during typical migration months being reported for non-migrant individuals.

While interest in visual representations of animals is well established in visual sociology, this article explores another set of possibilities connected with practices of looking at animals. In particular, I examine the social organization of visual experience in whale watching, with a focus on the role of narration. Using detailed transcriptions of whale watch narration as data, I argue that naturalists produce publicly witnessed trip sightings by coordinating what can be seen in the water with understandings of whales as objects of scientific research and environmental concern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Soundwatch Boater Education Program is a vessel monitoring and public education outreach program. Soundwatch has been run by The Whale Museum (TWM) during the whale watch season (May through September) in the Haro Strait Region of the Central Salish Sea since 1993. Data collection has been in a consistent manner since 1998 and is presented here. The program compiles data on vessel types and vessel interactions with marine mammals with a focus on the Southern Resident killer whale (SRKW), Orcinas orca, which was listed as endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 2005. The primary goal of the Soundwatch program is to reduce vessel disturbance to SRKWs and other marine wildlife through the education of boaters on regional, local and federal guidelines and regulations and the systematic monitoring of vessel activities around cetaceans. Since 1998, the number of active commercial whale watching vessels has increased over time; ranging from a low of 63 in 1999, to a high of 96 in 2015. In addition, the number of vessel incidents or violation of regulations and guidelines has also increased; ranging from a low of 398 in 1998 to a high of 2621 in 2012. Soundwatch collected data on 23 incident types, some remaining the same over the 18-year data set and some changing over time. The most common incidents over the 18 years were “Within 880 m of Lime Kiln” and “Crossing the path of whales”. The numbers of people kayaking near whales also significantly increased since 2004 with the incident “kayaks spread out” with a significantly increasing trend making it difficult for whales to avoid vessels. These results suggest a need for further outreach for effective education and enforcement of whale watching guidelines and regulations in the Central Salish Sea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the nasal asymmetry of odontocetes (toothed whales) was analyzed morphometrically by placing landmarks on photographed nasofacial skulls from 12 different species and genera that belong to four odontocete families. The results show that the degree of asymmetry tends to be linked with the mechanism of click sound generation in odontocetes. The narrow-banded high-frequency echolocators, such as Phocoenidae, Inia geoffrensis, Pontoporia blainvillei and Cephalorhynchus commersonii, show a more symmetric skull than the broad-banded low-frequency species (most delphinids). Exceptions to this tendency are, for example Kogia sima, with narrow-banded high-frequency clicks and a high degree of nasofacial asymmetry, and Feresa attenuata, a delphinid with broad-banded low-frequency clicks and a moderate degree of nasofacial asymmetry. Accordingly, there is no consistent functional correlation between click type and skull asymmetry probably because the nasofacial skull does not strictly reflect the anatomy of the sound generating nasal soft structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present findings on the prevalence and abundance of cyamid ectoparasites (Cyamus ceti) or "whale lice" on bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) harvested for subsistence in the Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort Seas from 1973 to 2015. Cyamids were present on 20% of the 673 whales that were examined for cyamid ectoparasites. Logistic regression was used to determine factors associated with cyamid prevalence. The probability of cyamid presence increased with age, length, and improving body condition, but decreased over the past 35 years. Cyamid presence was also more probable on whales harvested in the spring than on those harvested in the fall. When present, cyamid abundance was typically low (< 10 per whale). Case histories provide ancillary information about the relationships between abundance of cyamids and their bowhead hosts. Environmental change and increasing anthropogenic disturbances are expected to occur in the Arctic regions inhabited by bowheads. We recommend continued monitoring of subsistence harvested whales for cyamids, as well as further investigations into the roles of environmental and anthropogenic variables in cyamid prevalence and abundance, as part of a comprehensive program of Arctic ecosystem assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article attempts to establish a possible association between humpback whale sex and specific surface displays during their breeding season in Ecuador. It has been informed that 586 trips were conducted between 2006 and 2010, and during that period aboard whalewatching boats recorded 1,237 humpback whales. It has been informed that backward breaches-tail lashing occurred during sightings with a significantly lower frequency than expected.

The article discusses a study which reports the sighting of the North Atlantic right whale or Eubalaena glacialis in the Azores on January 5, 2009 travelling in a westerly direction at a constant speed. It says that the right whale was resighted in the Bay of Fundy in September 2, 2009 after being seen in the Azores. It mentions that the whale was detected by land-based observers employed by whalewatching companies. Results show that 1,769 cetacean sightings were recorded. Furthermore, the sighting suggested that the right whale did not remain in or return to the area.

Twenty nine cetacean species occur in Costa Rican waters but extensive research has been conducted only for three species. The latter shows there is a lack of general and local information about these mammals, even when the country, has shown a remarkable growth in whale watching activities. The increasing use of marine resources in coastal areas has also developed the need to determine the occurrence of cetaceans in areas showing high tourist presence, in order to propose sound conservation measures. In this study, environmental variables were determined and subsequently related to the presence of the species recorded, out of 166 sightings, between 2005 and 2006. The species with highest proportion of sightings were Stenella attenuata (68%), followed by Megaptera novaeangliae (13%) and Tursiops truncatus (10%). The presence of spotted dolphins is related to changes in salinity and water transparency, while that of the humpback whale was related to wave height (Beaufort scale) and water temperature. The presence of seven species of cetaceans was confirmed in two coastal areas of the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, from which three are present throughout the year. Environmental variables were found related to the presence of at least two species. Rev. Biol. Trop. 59 (1): 283-290. Epub 2011 March 01. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photo-identification of fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus L.) was carried out off the south coast of Ireland between 2003 and 2008. During 79 research trips, mainly on-board a whale watching vessel, 62 individual fin whales were identified using a variety of marks, including notches in the dorsal fin, blotches and scars. Forty (65%) of these whales were only seen once but eleven whales (18%) have been recorded within a year on up to four occasions within a season and eleven whales (18%) re-sighted between years with one recorded in four and one in five of the last seven years. Re-sighting rate varied depending on the marks used to identify whales but was 17.7% overall. The mean interval between the first and last reported sighting was 33.2 days, with a minimum of one day and a maximum interval of 165 days. The south coast of Ireland is an important site for fin whales and provides excellent research opportunities due to their close proximity to land. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The Saguenay St. Lawrence Marine Park (SSLMP) and the adjacent Marine Protected Area (MPA) in the St. Lawrence Estuary, in Quebec, cover a territory of exceptional biodiversity including 12 species of marine mammals, nearly half of which are considered to be endangered species. Whale-watching trips and other human activities related to commercial shipping, tourism, and recreation generate very intensive traffic in the area, which pose cumulative threats to the marine wildlife. This study has been undertaken in collaboration with the Marine Park and the MPA managers to develop a multi-agent system (MAS) to investigate the interactions between the traffic and the marine mammals in the estuary. This paper describes the first prototype version of the proposed MAS model where the focus is on the whale-watching boats. It discusses the conceptual model with its principal components: the physical environment and the boat agents and whale entities, and the implementation of the model with the behavior rules of the agents. In this version of the MAS, the whale-watching boats are represented as cognitive agents while the whales are simple reactive entities. The prototype model was implemented in the agent-based modeling platform RePast. An index, the happiness factor (i.e., the ratio of whale observation time over the trip duration) was designed to measure how successful the boat agents are in achieving their goal. Simulations were run to assess different decision strategies of the boat agents and their impacts on the whales. Results show that cooperative behavior that involves a combination of innovator and imitator strategies yields a higher average happiness factor over non-cooperative, purely innovators, behavior. However, this cooperative behavior creates increased risk for the whale populations in the estuary. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Recognition of the potential disturbance from whale-based tourism has stimulated the discussion of whether whale watching remains 'no take'. Here we use observations and passive acoustic surveillance of tourism activities of foraging gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) on the west coast of Vancouver Island to better understand the pressures on whales that are repeatedly subject to aerial and vessel-based viewing. Pressure from the fleet was greatest for low prey years, whereby fewer whales were subject to a greater number of encounters with whale watching vessels. The pressure on operators for close encounters was also greater during these years. The acoustic recordings found that whale watching vessels shaped the soundscape, with a distinct diurnal pattern. Acoustic reactions by the whales were also noted. Cow-calf pairs showed increased calling rate in the presence of vessels in the feeding bay, with calling rate of single foraging whales increasing as vessel number, particularly those engaged in whale watching, increased. These responses have implications for energetics, communication success. The implications of acoustic disturbance from whale watching has yet to be well defined, but it is only one of many stressors that gray whales are subject to. The results of this study lead us to argue for greater evidence-based management of whale watching; restrictions on encounters; noise emission limitations; requiems for the whales, and a greater interpretative component for passengers. The aggregate and cumulative effects of disturbance should also be emphasized in vessel-whale interaction guidelines, with the most vulnerable individuals removed from the viewing resource altogether. • Current whale watching practices are not sufficient to ensure 'no-take'. • Practices should be more sensitive to individual, species and ecological setting. • Acoustic disturbance from vessels and aircraft should be better considered. • More effort needed to characterise cumulative effects, including whale watching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study examines the socio-cultural values of multiple ecosystem services (ES) sourced from whales in Skjálfandi Bay, North Iceland, with many beneficiaries living in and visiting the town of Húsavík. The study begins to address the research gap in non-monetary valuation of marine ecosystem services. Based on a multi-method approach, it elicits stakeholders' perceptions of the contribution of whale ES to human wellbeing using stakeholder mapping, semi-structured interviews, observations, and socio-cultural preference surveys. The key whale ES identified by the local stakeholders were cultural, most frequently mentioned being recreation and education. The most commonly mentioned ES values were related to economic benefits from the whale watching industry. The preference survey reveals that regulating and maintenance ES were valued most highly with a mean score of 4.0 out of 5.0, cultural ES were second with a mean score of 3.5, and provisioning ES in the form of food and raw materials were valued the least with a mean of 0.75. Interview data also reveals some marine ES management challenges originating from intensified tourism, industrial development, and climate change. The results of the study have the potential to inform marine resource management in Iceland by including socio-cultural values associated with whale resources. • The paper examines socio-cultural values of whale ES in Skjálfandi Bay, Iceland. • A multi-method approach is used to identify and assess ten key ES and their values. • The most highly valued ES group is regulating and maintenance, followed by cultural, and provisioning. • The key management challenges relate to identifying and accounting for trade-offs and synergies between different marine ES. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whale watching in Patagonia began in 1973, with the southern right whale (Eubalaena australis) as a target. Thus far, only short-term effects of whale watching on behaviour have been evaluated. The southern right whale population is increasing locally and expanding to adjacent areas. We evaluated boat effects on the biological system through the analysis of breathing rate, linearity, reorientation rate and total distance travelled. Short-term movement patterns of SRW in the area are not severely affected by whale watching operations in Puerto Pirámide at this level of activity. However, significant changes in breathing rates in the presence of boats deserve further attention considering that whales return the same location. In light of the present work, the whales that breed at Península Valdés may be tolerant to whale watching boats. • No significant short-term effects of boat presence were observed on the whales' movement indices analysed. • There is a decrease in the breathing rate that could be related to the whales' tendency to remain underwater close to boats. • The whales around Puerto Pirámide may be tolerant to whale watching boats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the statements issued by participants in the annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) held at the Casino Park Hotel in Madeira, Portugal from May 31 to June 12, 2009. The Scientific Committee and the IWC acknowledged that the monitoring of whale meat products implemented by the governments of Norway, Japan and Iceland is outside the competence and jurisdiction of the IWC. The Japanese delegation made the position that whalewatching and small cetaceans are beyond the jurisdiction of the IWC and decided not to provide data on small cetaceans and not to participate in the meeting of the Sub-Committee on Small Cetaceans.

Presents information on a law passed by the Ministries of Madagascar which governs the codes of conduct for whale-watching. Basis of the law; Importance of Madagascar's coastal waters for humpback whales; Effects of whale-watching.