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Bottlenose dolphins breaching

Landmark report reveals UK wildlife’s devastating decline

With whales and dolphins already facing many threats, a landmark report released this week reveals...
Dolphins with oil rig

Go ahead for new UK oil and gas exploration threatens whales and dolphins

Permission has been granted for the development of the UK's biggest untapped oilfield off Shetland,...
Icelandic hunting vessels in port

Whaling boat kept in port after more hunt cruelty exposed

Icelandic whale hunting fleet One of the whaling boats involved in the latest hunts in...
Commerson's dolphin

New Important Marine Mammal Areas added to global ocean conservation list

Commerson's dolphin Experts from a number of countries have mapped out a new set of...

Blue whales in New Zealand found to be genetically distinct

Blue whales have long been known to frequent the waters around New Zealand but now scientists have discovered that the whales living between the North and South islands appear to be a genetically distinct population. 

A survey in 2014 by a team from the Marine Mammal Institute at Oregon State University identified around 50 blue whales in the South Taranaki Bight but it was unclear if these whales were just seasonal visitors or might be there on a more permanent basis.

Over the next few years, the team revisited the area and built up a picture of blue whale activity in the area. Using hydrophones they heard blue whale sounds almost every recording day in 2016 in the Bight. They were able to identify that the sounds were only made by these whales and none from other blue whale populations known to inhabit waters in the Southern Hemisphere. Further investigation enabled them to discover that the whales, which grow to around 22m, are also genetically distinct. The researchers currently estimate that there are around 718 whales living here but further research is needed to obtain a more accurate population figure.

Working with local authorities, there is also a need to draw up conservation plans as the waters in this part of New Zealand are used for industrial activities such as oil and gas exploration and extraction.

Barlow DR, Torres LG, Hodge KB, Steel D and others (2018)
Documentation of a New Zealand blue whale population based on multiple lines of evidence. Endang Species Res 36:27-40.
https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00891 

About George Berry

George is a member of WDC's Communications team and website coordinator.