Remarks on the Distribution and Migration of Whales, based on Observations from Netherlands Ships

Abstract

Contents 5 REMARKS ON THE DISTRIBUTION AND MIGRATION OF WHALES with regard to the determination of the species than those of other observers. His data have been collected in a special table (table 5). Grateful acknowledgment is also made to Dr. S. G. BROWN (N.I.O.-Wormley-England) who was extremely helpful in reading the manuscript and suggesting a number of corrections based on a very thorough knowledge of the subject. 2. DETERMINATION OF SPECIES In the instructions given to our collaborators on board of the ships, it was asked to record sightings of all big whales, i.e. all Baleen Whales and the Sperm Whale. In the forms date, hour, position of the ship, visibility, wind and other factors influencing the reliability of the observations could be filled in, as well as the number of animals, the presence or absence of calves and the presumptive species. It was asked to record as many characteristics as possible that could be of some use to the determinationof the species, as for example the estimated length, colour, height and shape of the blast, absence or presence of the dorsal fin, visibility of flukes and flippers etc. It was also asked to record some particulars about respiration, speed of swimming and behaviour of the animals. These particulars were used by collaborators of the Whale Research Group in determining the species of the animals involved. It turned out that this was possible with a high degree of reliability in Right Whales (Eubalaena glacialis Bonnat.; Eubalaena australis Desm.), Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae (Borowski)) and Sperm Whales (Physeter macrocephalus L.). There was such a small number of sightings of Right Whales, Grey Whales and Little Piked Whales, that by charting the records on monthly maps, it was not possible to draw the same sort of conclusion about their distribution or migration as with regard to the other species. They are dealt with in separate chapters. It was quite evident that unexperienced observers would not be able to distinguish with any reliability between Blue Whales (Balaenoptera musculus (L.)), Fin Whales (Balaenoptera physalus (L)), Sei Whales (Balaenoptera borealis (Lesson)) and Bryde Whales (Balaenoptera brydei (Olsen)). Just as it was done by BROWN (1957, 1958) we collected the sightings of these four species under one single heading: rorquals. And just as BROWN, we distinguished also a category "whales" for all those cases in which it was not even possible to distinguish 8 E. J. SLIJPER, W. L. VAN UTRECHT AND C. NAAKTGEBOREN says that in April Blue Whales are observed at the Faroes coming from the Southwest on their northward run. It is also in accordance with the statements that Blue Whales migrate northward along the west coast of Ireland and the Hebrides in May and June (KELLOGG, 1929) and that Fin Whales pass these coasts in a north east direction in May (HINTON, 1925). From the charts it is quite evident that there are large concentrations of rorquals in some special regions of the Atlantic Ocean, especially in certain coastal waters. These are...

Historic and current habitat use by North Pacific right whales Eubalaena japonica in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska

“…Additional records for the 1950s included opportunistic sightings from weather ships ( n = 2) (Pike & McAskie, 1969) and Dutch vessels ( n = 4) (Slijper, van Utrecht & Naaktgeboren, 1964) in the GOA. Sightings from the Dutch vessels occurred over a 4‐year period (1955–58) within a 10‐degree block between 40–50°N and 170–180°W, and are not shown on any map as exact locations were not available and species identification was uncertain.…”

“…5). Soviet whalers caught 121 right whales in the shallow shelf waters just west of Bristol Bay in 1964 and1967 (Fig. 5).…”

The Philippine Marine Mammal Strandings from 1998 to 2009: Animals in the Philippines in Peril?

“…data). All recorded strandings of the humpback whale (n = 3) were in Northern Luzon where sightings have been reported since 1964 (Slijper et al, 1964). A stranding of an Irrawaddy dolphin in Dumangas, Iloilo, in 2006 provided the first evidence that such species was not restricted to Malampaya Sound, Palawan.…”

Analysis of humpback whale sounds in shallow waters of the Southeastern Arabian Sea: An indication of breeding habitat

“…The distribution of humpback whales in the Arabian Sea is known from whaling records (Wray and Martin 1983;Mikhalev 1997), as well as observations from merchant vessels and winter surveys off the coast of Oman. Sighting and survey records have suggested that humpback whales are mostly concentrated in the shallow nearshore areas of the coast, particularly in the Gulf of Masirah and Kuria Muria Bay regions (Minton 2004), while sighting and stranding have suggested a population range including the Balochistan coast of Pakistan, Iran, Iraq (Al Robaae 1974;Braulik et al 2010), Yemen, Northern Gulf of Aden, western India and Sri Lanka (Brown 1957;Mikhalev 2000;Minton et al 2008;Reeves et al 1991;Slijper et al 1964;Yukhov 1969). Whitehead (1985) recorded humpback whale songs off the coast of Oman, which indicate that this population coincided with the Northern Hemisphere breeding cycle, with calving taking place between January and May (Mikhalev 2000;Minton et al 2008), and peaking in early March.…”

“…Brown (1957) reported that the Arabian Sea humpback whales migrate from Antarctic feeding grounds, while Slijper et al (1964) suggest that they come from the North Pacific to the Gulf of Aden near Oman, in the Persian Gulf and off Ceylon. A total of 24 winter breeding areas were determined by Rasmussen (2006), all within 30 degrees of the equator, worldwide.…”