We just finished a wonderful milestone – the first time that the research department completed systematic transect surveys on our research vessel Ocean Protector throughout the entire whale season (December – April). We were hampered by some windy weather in April but overall it was a successful season. January and February had the most whale sightings, as usual, although we did see whales regularly throughout all of the season.
Some of the highlights of this whale season were:
- 55 survey days and 455 hours in the field, covering 3218 nautical miles.
- 293 sightings of humpback whales.
- 12 sightings of bottlenose dolphins.
- 11 sightings of spotted dolphins.
- 5 sightings of spinner dolphins.
- 3 encounters with false killer whales.
- 1 encounter with short-finned pilot whales.
Thank you to our wonderful interns and volunteers, as well as our members and supporters whose donations continue to fund our research efforts.
