2008 AMBAR-ORCA Survey
for
Cuvier's Beaked Whales and other Cetaceans
Between June 28 and July 18, 2008 Bluefin of Hamble, the Seamark Trust survey vessel, returned to the area that was surveyed in 2007. Visual and hydrophone data were collected on the distribution, abundance and habitat preferences of Cuvier's beaked whales in the southern Bay of Biscay so as to augment previously collected data for a complete analysis.
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Bluefin of Hamble in Bermeo harbour |
This survey was a collaboration among the Spanish marine conservation organisation, AMBAR, the British organisation, ORCA (Organisation Cetacea) and the Seamark Trust.
As in previous years, the Seamark Trust supplied the survey vessel free apart from direct costs such as the skipper and crew, food and a portion of the fuel.
The annotated chart below shows the Bay of Biscay area in which single platform line transect visual and acoustic surveys were carried out by observers from AMBAR, ORCA or MARINE LIFE . They sailed nearly 140 hours and covered 1,400 km, nearly 1,000 of them on active survey duty.
As summarised in the table, a variety of species was sighted, both during active observation and incidentally.
Species |
|
Total Number
of Animals |
Beaked Whales |
|
|
Cuvier's beaked whale
(Zifius cavirostris) |
9 |
13 |
Sowerby's beaked whale
(Mesoplodon bidens) |
2 |
6 |
Un-identified beaked whale |
4 |
4 |
Sperm Whales |
|
|
Sperm whale
(Physeter macrocephalus) |
2 |
14 |
Fin Whales |
|
|
Fin whale
(Balaneoptera physalus) |
3 |
4 |
Small Cetaceans |
|
|
Long finned pilot whale
(Globicephala melas) |
3 |
17 |
Bottlenosed dolphin
(Tursiops truncatus) |
8 |
42 |
Common dolphin
(Delphinus delphis) |
53 |
608 |
Striped dolphin
(Stenella coruleoalba) |
6 |
45 |
Common or striped dolphin |
14 |
184 |
Unidentified dolphin species |
15 |
50 |
Unidentified Cetaceans |
|
|
Unidentified medium cetacean |
3 |
4 |
Unidentified whale species |
5 |
10 |
Fish species |
|
|
Unidentified shark |
1 |
1 |
Cuvier's Beaked Whale
As it was last year, the focus of this summer's survey was the Cuvier's Beaked Whale. It was sighted mostly in waters deeper than 1,000 m in the East, deeper than 2,000 m in the West.
Photo identification suggested the presence of 6 new individuals compared with the 2006 survey. Comparisons with the 2007 survey have not yet been carried out.
Some promising acoustic data were obtained even though the software collapse that occurred on each engine start-up presented great challenges.
Small Cetaceans
Small dolphins were sighted widely throughout the survey area.
Large Cetaceans
Large whales, when sighted, occurred mostly in deep waters of the western part of the study area. The most remarkable single sighting was that of 13 sperm whale individuals. |
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