Understanding and Protecting Whales

For many years, SGHT and Friends of South Georgia Island (FOSGI) have supported whale research by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) which aims to understand the population recovery, health, habitat use and migratory connections of whale populations in South Georgia waters.

Important discoveries are being made about species as a result. High densities of humpback whales have been observed, with preliminary estimates suggesting that they are now very close to full population recovery on this former whalingground. Critically endangered Antarctic blue whales were sighted 36 times during a 2020 survey, with 55 animals seen. For such a rare species, this is an unprecedented number of sightings and suggests that South Georgia waters are again an important summer feeding ground for this poorly known species.

Looking Ahead

The encouraging news that whales are returning to South Georgia waters means that understanding the resilience of their food source, krill, is critical. Whales are the largest krill-predators at South Georgia, yet unlike other krill predators, they are not regularly monitored. Together with FOSGI, we will be supporting new work by BAS to measure whale foraging patterns (using satellite tracking) and krill consumption rates across seasons in South Georgia waters to help develop an ecosystem-based management of the krill fishery. Find out more at https://www.bas.ac.uk/project/sustained-monitoring-of-whales-at-south-georgia/

Acoustic detection and citizen-science partnerships are building a sustainable framework for long-term monitoring of whales at South Georgia (focussed in high vessel-traffic areas). This helps quantify overlaps between whales and human activities and provide management guidance to minimise impacts from vessels (collision risk and underwater noise) in key whale habitats.

Projects like this will help the South Georgia Government to minimise any potential negative impacts of human activity on recovering populations of whales in South Georgia waters, and will be showcased in new exhibitions at the South Georgia Museum.