2022 Tohorā Satellite Tracks Are Now Live
Researchers have satellite-tagged southern right whales at the Auckland Islands to track their migrations as part of a world-first circumpolar collaboration.
Teams from New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, and South America will share live tracking data to deepen understanding of global right whale populations.
Live Ocean has supported Dr Emma Carroll’s research for three years, helping deepen our understanding in order to better protect one of the planet’s most thriving right whale populations.
For the first time, southern right whales are being tracked across the Southern Ocean in a global scientific collaboration.
Between 6 and 14 July 2022, researchers from the University of Auckland and Cawthron Institute put satellite tags on southern right whales – tohorā at the Auckland Islands Maungahuka.
The satellite tags are now available to be tracked live on the tohorā voyages website to help scientists learn more about the migratory journeys of these whales.
This year is particularly special for marine scientists studying southern right whales as it signals the start of an international collaboration, with the world’s first circumpolar simultaneous satellite tagging program of any whale species.
Over the coming months, Australian, South African and South American research teams will also be collecting data and sharing it with the other scientists. This will provide critical insight and a global view into the world’s southern right whale populations, with live satellite data available to view from mid-August.
Live Ocean has supported Dr Emma Carroll’s research into the southern right whale in 2020, 2021 and now for a third and final year in 2022. As Aotearoa is a guardian to the planet’s most flourishing right whale population, this information will help inform a global view of how to look after them in the future as the ocean and climate changes.
This year we will be following the journeys of eight more of these amazing ocean voyagers as they head offshore to their summer feeding grounds.
As of August 2022, five of the whales tagged in July had started migrating south and west, and several, including two mums with calves, were still around the Auckland Islands.
Follow the journeys of these curious travellers here and for more information on the tohorā satellite tracking program, check out tohoravoyages.ac.nz
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