Sustained Monitoring of Whales at South Georgia

It is now estimated that >30,000 whales visit South Georgia in summer, making this sub-Antarctic island the highest-density UK hotspot for recovering whales, including critically endangered Antarctic blue whales.

The majority of blubbery visitors are humpback whales, which are currently the most abundant species feeding in South Georgia in summer. However, Antarctic blue and southern right whales remain far from recovery, and substantial population increases are projected, doubling current numbers (see Antarctic blue and southern right whale projections here). Because of their previous rarity, whales were not explicitly considered in South Georgia’s conservation management planning until recently. With rapid abundance increases there is an urgent need to explicitly consider them in future management.

The Sustained Monitoring project aims to create a sustainable framework for the Government of South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands to monitor multi-season whale occurrence at South Georgia in relation to shipping, climate change, and other environmental indices in the South Georgia Marine Protected Area. This project is:

-Producing estimates of summer whale density for the north coast of South Georgia every year

-Monitoring year-round whale occurrence, vessel traffic, underwater noise, and acoustic masking using passive acoustic monitoring at the main visitor destination in Cumberland Bay;

-Developing risk-reduction protocols relating to ship-speed and noise regulations to improve environmental quality in important whale habitats, summarised in a South Georgia Baleen whale Action Plan;

-Identifying environmental drivers of whale occurrence for potential management action in relation to quota-setting for the krill fishery.

This project involves international collaborators from the following institutes: the Scottish Association for Marine Science, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO), HappyWhale, ORCA and the Polar Citizen Science Collective.

The project is also very grateful to the Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands for providing significant support and to the funders: Darwin Plus, the Blue Belt Programme, South Georgia Heritage Trust, and Friends of South Georgia Island.