Feature story - January 7, 2008
The crew onboard the Esperanza, currently down in the Southern Ocean, has made a series of rare and exciting Humpback recordings.
Humpback whales show their flukes while feeding near the Antarctic ice edge in the Southern Ocean. Greenpeace is carrying out non-lethal research on whale populations in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary from their ship, the Esperanza.
Greenpeace whale scientist Leandra Goncalves (L) and cameraman Gavin Newman in close proximity to a Humpback whale feeding near the Antarctic ice edge in the Southern Ocean.
Greenpeace boat driver Heath Hanson leans over to glance at a Humpback whale near an inflatable boat at the Antarctic ice edge in the Southern Ocean.
After a slightly delayed departure from Auckland, the Esperanza set off down to the Southern Ocean in mid-December. The team's now in the process of finding and engaging the Japanese whaling fleet. Meanwhile, its non-lethal research into the whale population in the Southern Ocean got a major boost on January 7, when 50 playful, feeding humpbacks surrounded the ship and befriended those onboard.
Crew members reported that the whales were "flirtatious", performing slaps and rolls and even blowing in the faces of the inflatable crew. Rumour has it people's voices were hoarse by the end of the day after much wooping and cheering.
The series of humpback whales recordings obtained during the day is very rare.
Greenpeace science officer Leandra Goncalves (who's onboard the Esperanza): "This provided us with an amazing opportunity to record the vocalizations of whales while they fed. Very little is known about whale behaviour in the Southern Ocean. This data, in addition to that already gathered earlier this year during the Great Whale Trail tagging project (http://www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/oceans/whaling/great-whale-trail) is vital in giving us a greater understanding of the behaviour and communications of humpback whales."
Greenpeace Japan's campaigner, Sakyo Noda, is also aboard the ship."In stark contrast to the non-lethal research that we and other legitimate researchers have been carrying out, the Japanese Fisheries Agency's Research Programme has determined practically nothing of scientific value. While Japan's whaling fleet has given the humpbacks a reprieve this year, it still plans to needlessly slaughter nearly 1,000 whales, including 50 endangered fin whales."
Greenpeace is collaborating with a team of scientists on the 'Great Whale Trail' project, which involves the collection of data from satellite tagging of whales, harmless skin biopsies and fluke identification, and has already yielded valuable information about the migration patterns of threatened humpback populations, without a single harpoon being fired.
The Esperanza will continue its non-lethal whale research programme en route to finding and stopping the whaling fleet, demonstrating that real scientific results can be achieved without killing hundreds of whales.