Entries by Nicola Hodgins

Now that we know more about the background to these special little porpoises, vaquita researcher Thomas Jefferson tells us more about the importance of photographing them alive and in the wild and shares his experiences of the 2008 expedition to capture some of the first images of these porpoises.

The vaquita (Phocoena sinus) has been recognized as one of the World’s rarest and most vulnerable mammalian species since its scientific discovery just a bit over fifty years ago. Porpoise deaths in gillnet fisheries are unsustainable and are clearly causing the small population to decline. The vaquita is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List.

With the recent discovery that the baiji (Lipotes vexillifer) of China’s Yangtze River is now extinct, the vaquita is becomes the most endangered cetacean species in the world. The vaquita population has declined by more than 50% since 1997, when the first large-scale survey of the entire range was conducted. Current population size of the vaquita has been estimated by combining information from a visual and acoustic survey conducted in 2008. It was estimated that only about 245 vaquitas remained in 2008, and if the decline is continuing, then there would likely be no more than 220 left at present!

Back in 2008, efforts to raise public awareness and conserve the vaquita had been limited by the absence of high-quality photo or video images of the animals alive in their natural habitat. Green groups often successfully use images of wildlife to focus their fund-raising efforts and obtain sympathy for endangered species (a clear example is the giant panda, in which images of this large, attractive animal were instrumental in gaining sympathy for its effective conservation).

This had been difficult with the vaquita, which is also a large, attractive animal (and with a unique appearance, quite different from any of the other six porpoise species). Few people realized this, however, as the best available images were blurry, distant photos showing little more than a grainy dot that looked more like a dust particle on the lens than a marine mammal! There were even claims from within Mexico that the vaquita was not real - a ‘mythical creature,’ further hampering conservation efforts. Showing the world what the vaquita looked like, alive and in its natural habitat, would be critical to efforts to raise the funds needed to save the species. In addition, photography could help us to learn more about the biology of this poorly-known species.

The 2008 Photographic Expedition

So, with funding from several organizations (including WDCS), I set out in late 2008 with my colleagues Tom Kieckhefer, Paula Olson, and Chris Johnson, to see if we could rectify this problem. From 2-30 October 2008, we conducted small-vessel surveys for vaquitas from San Felipe. Each day, weather permitting, we traveled offshore to the region between San Felipe and Rocas Consag. We searched for vaquitas while the vessel was moving, but also periodically conducted ‘stop and drift’ searches, in which the vessel’s engine and depth sounder were shut down, and 3-6 people searched the area with naked eye and binoculars.



We used two boats: the Emma Luz, a small 21 ft. outboard motor boat, called a panga, and the Pancho Villa, a 57-foot sportfishing vessel based in Puerto Peñasco. The Pancho Villa was much more stable and seaworthy, with a higher platform and much greater capability for observer observations. It proved to be a better type of platform for the searches. After 17 days worrying days of not seeing a single vaquita, we finally had a flat calm day and our first sightings on 18 October. We hit the jackpot! Over the next 12 days we had 12 more sightings…

We got photos of vaquitas during eight of the sightings. Most photos were very distant, but we did obtain some high-quality images that have proven useful for promoting vaquita conservation (see our website www.vivavaquita.org). Also, we obtained images that were adequate for photo-identification. This represents the first time that vaquitas have been photo-identified.



Despite the challenges and difficulties evidenced by not seeing vaquitas for 17 days, this project demonstrated that (with a great deal of patience and some luck) vaquitas can be photographed and that photo-identification of individual porpoises is possible. Many of our colleagues doubted this was possible, and after 17 days with no sightings, we were beginning to doubt it ourselves. The animals are incredibly cryptic and rare, so a great deal of time will generally be needed. However, the critically-endangered status of the species make this worthwhile. Through future such efforts, we hope to help prevent the extinction of this wonderful and mysterious little porpoise!

Photos taken under permit (Oficio No. DR/488/08) from the Secretaria de Medio Ambiente y Resursos Naturales (SEMARNAT), within a natural protected area subject to special management and decreed as such by the Mexican Government.

July is the turn of the smallest and until recently, one of the least well known porpoises, the vaquita. WDCS has previously funded work on these endangered cetaceans and to learn more about these special animals we turn to the experts from ¡Viva Vaquita! who are studying them in the field and working to ensure that they're still here in years to come.

The smallest porpoise in the world is also the most endangered cetacean on the planet. Meet the vaquita, just discovered in the 1950s by the late Dr. Ken Norris, from the University of California at Santa Cruz. In less than 60 years, the vaquita is now on the verge of extinction.

Just four years ago, the Yangtze River dolphin, or baiji, became extinct through massive habitat destruction in China. The vaquita, however, lives in pristine waters in the Gulf of California, and does not face extinction from environmental causes. The threat to vaquita survival is the high occurrence of incidental catch in the nets of fishermen, who are primarily fishing for shrimp. With only about 220 remaining, the vaquita lives in a relatively small area in the Gulf of California off the coast of San Felipe, which is only about a 4 hour drive from the United States/Mexican border.

Much of its range is protected as a Biosphere Preserve, but many are accidently taken in nets outside of the Preserve’s boundaries. The vaquita has been designated as a highly endangered species, yet it is difficult to patrol the area where they still exist. It was a tragedy to lose the baiji, but it should not be a precedent to lose another cetacean species. The vaquita can be saved! The Mexican and US governments have been involved and need to be encouraged to continue their protection of the vaquita range. The Biosphere Preserve should be expanded to cover the entire vaquita range, which is less than the size of Los Angeles. Fishing practices need to be changed, including buy outs of fishermen and the switch to escapable, non-lethal nets. It is recognized that there are not many sources of livelihood in that particular part of Baja California, but perhaps more eco-tourism and conservation-related businesses can grow to replace dependence on the fishing economy. Avoid purchasing seafood from companies that buy shrimp and fish caught in vaquita habitat. Monetary donations are being collected to help local fishermen find alternative methods of employment that is not lethal to vaquitas. Funds are also needed for monitoring the waters of the vaquita range to ensure that their environment is safe and free of nets. It is extremely important to create awareness and educate people about the plight of this charismatic animal before it is too late.

No good photographs of the vaquita existed prior to 2008. Dr. Tom Jefferson, a marine mammal scientist and graduate of Moss Landing Marine Labs, and his research team, travelled to Baja to gather information and start a catalog to identify individual porpoises from their unique dorsal fins. After 17 days in the vaquita range, the team finally managed to locate and photograph some of the elusive animals. Their photographs show a diminutive porpoise with black eye patches and lips, with a pronounced dorsal fin. Previous photos of the vaquita were of dead animals taken on land after removal from fishing nets.



Many environmental groups are starting to become aware of the consequences of ignoring the danger to the vaquita. With so few animals remaining, even a take as small as a few individuals per year adversely impacts the population. The vaquita, or ‘little cow’ is a uniquely Mexican animal, yet many residents consider it a mythical animal because they are so rarely seen. On the Monterey Peninsula, California, a group of conservationists associated with the American Cetacean Society and Save the Whales have formed a ¡Viva Vaquita! Task Force. World renowned sculptor, Randy Puckett, whose whales grace the ceiling of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, has designed a bronze vaquita sculpture, with proceeds to benefit vaquita conservation measures in Baja. The group has also set up vivavaquita.org and Facebook page to share information about the highly endangered species.

Photos taken under permit (Oficio No. DR/488/08) from the Secretaria de Medio Ambiente y Resursos Naturales (SEMARNAT), within a natural protected area subject to special management and decreed as such by the Mexican Government.

For all you folk "on the ball" out there, you may have noticed that June is now behind us and we've moved on to July and technically, we should therefore be moving onto a new species, which we will be doing ... but only once we've closed down this "species blog" and heard from one last humpback researcher out in the field.

June turned out to be quite a month for the humpback whale, and unfortunately not all of it positive. Greenland (or should we say Denmark) were successful in being allowed by the IWC to add humpbacks to their whaling menu, 9 individuals now have targets on their backs! And of course it's not just Greenland who want to take humpbacks, Japan have them on their list although have to date not actually taken any, and some island nations in the Caribbean are also continuing to take humpbacks under the guide of "subsistence whaling".

However to end the "humpback month" on a more positive note, let's hear about humpback whales in the Southern Hemisphere from WDCS's Pacific Islands Programme Lead, Dr. Cara Miller - over to you Cara!

It has been estimated that between 1904 and 1980 more than 200,000 humpback whales were commercially whaled in the Southern Hemisphere. Illegal and unreported takes by Russia from shortly after World War II until the late 1970s were estimated to include over 45,000 humpbacks. A majority of these whales were believed to come from the Antarctic foraging grounds which humpback whales from Australia and Oceania utilize during their yearly migration south from their warmer breeding grounds. Given this background, it is not surprising that the Oceania subpopulation of humpback whales has recently been classified as Endangered by the IUCN. This classification was largely based on the small number of individuals present on tropical breeding grounds in comparison to pre-whaling abundance estimates, including comparisons between historical and recent land-based counts conducted in Fiji and other Pacific Islands. In the 1960s some land-points in Fiji saw hundreds of whales swimming past every week during the peak migration period. However, last year only about 20 humpbacks were counted in three full weeks of surveys. Obviously there has been a dramatic decline.



To continue monitoring and study of the Endangered Oceania humpback whale subpopulations WDCS is working in partnership with the Government of Fiji Fisheries Department and WWF with a recently funded grant from the Australian Government. The upcoming 3-year systematic and consistent land-based surveys will provide a valuable index of humpback whale migration through Fijian waters. This project will document important breeding grounds of humpback whales and also assist in unraveling the pattern of population structure of Fijian humpback whales in the context of the Oceania subpopulation. In addition, our findings will aid in understanding the long-lasting impact that Southern Hemisphere whaling has imparted on this population. The major research techniques that we will be using include land-based counts, photo-identification of flukes and collection of song. Furthermore, all cetacean species sighted during these surveys will be documented to increase understanding of cetacean biodiversity in Fijian waters.



Important over-arching components of this project is to support the development and build the capacity of national government staff and researchers, and also to be relatively low-cost and easy to replicate to ensure sustainability over the longer term. Therefore, one of the key activities we’ll be involved in leading up to the surveys will be to provide all volunteers, government staff and other observers with training on cetacean species identification, behaviour, data collection, research methods, and background information on regional cetacean conservation initiatives.
Monitoring of humpbacks also represents an active implementation of the SPREP whale and dolphin action plan as well as the Convention of Migratory Species Memorandum of Understanding for the Conservation of Cetaceans and their Habitats in the Pacific Islands Region. In addition, the project will be linked with networks, organizations and departments including other Fiji government departments, local communities, Fiji Islands Voyaging Society, the Fiji cetaceans sightings network, the Fiji tourism sector, major boating clubs, and the University of the South Pacific.

And now to our final installment from Sue Rocca in our WDCS North America office as she trys to shed some light on where the humpbacks that spend their summer in the Gulf of Maine go when it comes to winter!

The bulk of North Atlantic humpbacks migrate to the West Indies for the winter breeding and calving season, particularly around the Dominican Republic. However, you can find humpbacks in the waters of other Caribbean nations; for example the people of the Turks and Caicos (TCI) have known there are humpbacks off their coast for generations. In fact there is evidence that a small and short-lived whaling industry took place on Salt Cay, a TCI island, in the 1870’s –80’s. But for much of the time it was thought the humpbacks sighted in TCI were only traveling by on their way to the Dominican Republic.

As the Caribbean is becoming ever more developed, we felt it was important to investigate how the whales are using the TCI waters. In 2007 and 2008 we conducted some preliminary studies on the humpbacks in TCI waters and found some amazing things.

First a little about TCI, the Turks and Caicos is named for two different underwater banks – made up of 8 large islands (40 if you count the small, uninhabited islands). The larger Caicos bank supports six islands, going west to east: West Caicos (semi-private island), Providenciales (largest population and where you will fly into when visiting the Turk and Caicos), North Caicos (the farming island), Middle Caicos (the largest island and least populated Caicos island), East Caicos (uninhabited), and South Caicos (conch, lobster and scale fish exportation and bone fishing destination).

The Turks bank supports two main islands, going north to south: Grand Turk and Salt Cay. Grand Turk is the governmental capital of the Turks and Caicos and a cruse ship destination. Salt Cay was the center of the Bermudan salt industry, the mainstay of the Turks and Caicos economy from the late 1600's until the early 1960's. Declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO

The cruise ship terminal (constructed in 2006) was an added reason for wanting to know how whales are using the area considering vessel strikes is one of the main threats to whales. This concern is always heightened in breeding and calving grounds. WDCS is also concerned over possible development on Salt Cay as the TCI government sold a substantial proportion of Salt Cay to build a proposed "Four Season’s resort and golf course". Salt Cay islanders’ opinions over this proposed project seem to be split: some believe it will be good for the local economy while others believe that outside labor will be brought in and locals will not benefit as they should. In any event, the resort can potentially poses very real threats to the whales that are sighted in the shallow waters off Salt Cay. These threats: increased pollution, acoustical disturbance, vessel strikes and harassment, could push whales away from these shallow, protected waters.

Our field time in TCI spans two years. In 2007 we were only able to be in TCI for 10 days and conducted research just out of Salt Cay. In 2008 we were able to expand our research to 2 months and more islands. What we have found so far leads us to believe that TCI is in fact part of the breeding, calving, nursing cycle. We recorded a few rowdy groups, where males try to get next to the female in hopes of being the male that she chooses to mate with. We recorded many mother and calf pairs in the waters as well. But by far the highlight for us was documenting a Gulf of Maine humpback in TCI waters in both years.

In 2008 we were with a mother and calf pair, the calf was being very active – tail breaching and flipper slapping. I was able to identify the mother of this active calf as Pinball. Pinball is the daughter of one of our old adoptable whales, Liner. Liner gave birth to Pinball in 1989 and in her 21 years of life Pinball has had 5 calves, including her 2008 calf. It is always wonderful to see whales you know, but even more wonderful to see them with their babies and know that the population is continuing to grow. Once I got a look at the tail fluke and realized the mother was Pinball, I had a look at the dorsal fins we had photographed. (humpbacks don’t fluke as consistently when they are in the Caribbean as they do in their Gulf of Maine summer feeding grounds) and found that we had seen Pinball and her calf the day before. Not only that but we had seen the pair 11 days before.



Looking at 2007 data we were able to say that Pinball was seen in the same general area as in 2008. However, in 2007 Pinball did not have a calf and was in an area with five to six other adult humpbacks right off Salt Cay.

We are looking forward to finding the funding to continue this very important work not just to find more whales setting up a level of residency in TCI but also because of the outreach and education opportunities. In 2008 we gave talks to children in schools about the importance to protect whales and the oceans.

The Turks and Caicos is an amazingly beautiful and diverse island chain, you could spend many years exploring the 40 different islands and cays. If you would like to stay a lifetime then come and get to know the people, an equally enjoyable endeavor.

In part one of our Gulf of Maine Humpback series , I spoke of how we use humpbacks’ readily identifiable natural markings to learn natural history information from migration routes to calving intervals. However, the discovery process is slow, and necessitates good and standardized scientific protocols. It’s this slow accumulation, processing and analyzing of data over decades that allows us to see trends and make new discoveries.

The process is also a collaborative one because whales are highly migratory. No one person or organization can be everywhere – so it’s only by pooling data together can we increase our knowledge of the life history of these highly migratory animals. This process leads to very busy field seasons in our North American (NA) office. WDCS NA curates a catalogue of 2,400 individual humpbacks within the Gulf of Maine, but this accounts for just a small part of the humpback in the North Atlantic.

The College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine curates a catalogue much larger then our -about 7,000 individuals from the entire North Atlantic. So it literally takes researchers from around the world working together to learn about the movements of whales. You are probably saying to yourself right about now- “Gosh, there’s got to be an easier way”. Satellite tags are used to get see how whales migrate over longer times and distances, but it only tracks that one whale and only for about 15 months and getting the tag on the animal in the first place can be troublesome and stressful on the animal. Satellite tags can be a very useful tool in the research box, but they do have their limits can’t give you life history information, such as calving rates and life spans. There are also many welfare concerns surrounding their use and application, and their long-term effects on the individuals concerned.

Peter Stevick, from Allied Whale, gave a talk at this year’s Whale Watch Naturalist Workshop highlighting some of Allied Whales work. Here is some of what we know about North Atlantic humpback whales. Of these 7,000 individuals, 4,810 have been documented on one of the six different North Atlantic feeding grounds (Gulf of Maine, Gulf of St Lawrence, Newfound, Greenland, Iceland and Norway) whilst 2,250 individuals have been seen in multiple years. The longest time between sightings of an individual is 36 years. One individual was first sighted in 1976 in Puerto Rico and then again in 2009 off Newfoundland. Never in the 36 years in between do we have a recorded sighting of this individual. I think this is a great example of what we are up against while trying to study whales.

About 2,400 individual humpbacks have been sighted in the main breeding grounds – the West Indies (link to http://www2.wdcs.org/fieldblog/index.php?/archives/128-Humpbacks-in-the-Gulf-of-Maine.html) however, only 772 of these 2,400 have also need seen in one of the feeding grounds, 175 of them in the Gulf of Maine.

However, not all the whales seem to go to the West Indies. The West Indies seems to be more heavily used by humpbacks that feed in the western North Atlantic whilst there is still a chunk of the eastern North Atlantic humpbacks that we do not know where they go to breed. There is another breeding ground in the Cape Verde Islands, however it seems that Cape Verde Islands are utilized by only tiny percentage of the population. For example, this year of eight animals photographed in Cape Verde Islands, five had been documented there in prior years. But there are cases of eastern North Atlantic humpbacks being documented in the Cape Verde Islands – two from Norway, and one from Iceland.

There is also a small exchange of individuals between feeding grounds. For Gulf of Maine (GoM)– 56 individuals have also been sighted in Newfoundland and Gulf of St. Lawrence, while one individual from the GoM was sighting in Greenland. Particularly scary due to the fact that Greenland wants to start hunting humpbacks.

As for this year we have documented 112 known animals and 18 mothers so far this year. Of course this is the growing and reproducing part of the population so we pay special attention to who’s giving birth and how often. So for now we are out on the water working as hard as we can to document humpbacks within the Gulf of Maine –for science as well as conservation.

And there is no better of example of how photo-ID, whale watching, research, conservation and management intertwine than Tofu. Tofu was born in 2005, to Isthmus, she was the grandcalf of Orbit, a third generation of identifiable humpback whales in the Gulf of Maine.



On June 24, 2007, WDCS received a call from a whale watching boat reporting a dead humpback whale. We went out to investigate and tow the whale in for a necropsy. We were able to identify the whale as Tofu from a small area of skin on her flukes, on her otherwise skinless body. A quick look at our data showed a sighting of Tofu on June 15th. Further investigations from whale watching boats indicated Tofu was last seen alive on June 21st – given the times of the sighting and the discovery of her body- she was dead, at most, two and a half days.

As there were no external signs of injury on her, WDCS and the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary towed her to Brewer’s Plymouth Marine to be hauled out, placed in a truck, and driven to a site for necropsy. The necropsy indicated she died from a vessel strike.



In the US, the Marine Mammal Protection Act includes a calculation for Potential Biological Removal (PBR). It is the number of animals that can be accidentally killed by human causes without harming the population level as a whole. For humpbacks in the Gulf of Maine, the number is three. Already that spring, two other humpbacks had been killed by vessel strikes. When PBR is met or exceeded, management actions must be considered.

From Tofu’s discovery to necropsy took three days and involved more than 50 people - from whale watching captains to Federal Agencies and everything in between. Knowing who this whale was, and how she died, mattered, not just to WDCS but to the conservation of the entire Gulf of Maine humpback population.

Tofu’s skeleton was sent to the Sea Coast Science Center in New Hampshire (US). She leaves a legacy exemplifying the threats whales continue to face at our hands and why the sighting of that one whale matters to the future of an entire population. On-the-water research is expensive and time consuming. WDCS’s most recent research trip in the Gulf of Maine lasted over 13 hours at a cost of more than $500USD in boat time alone. But a small price to pay to ensure the future of a population.