PROJECTS /
Voyages of the Tohorā
Project Summary
One of New Zealand’s greatest conservation success stories
Southern right whales are now facing a new threat – the changing climate
Research from the the world’s first global circumpolar study is being use to aid decison making and policy
Photo Credit / Richard Robinson
The Southern Right Whale
The return of the tohorā southern right whale is one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s best conservation success stories. They were decimated by whalers in the 19th century, from an estimated population of 30,000 down to around only 40 left by 1920.
An international hunting ban and a marine reserve located in the Maungahuka Auckland Islands allowed the whales to recover, by 2009 there were approximately 2,000. New Zealand is now home to the most flourishing right whale population on the planet.
These gentle giants are known for their curious and playful natures, now face a new threat – the changing climate. So little is known about this member of the great whale family and to protect it into the future, first we need to know where they go and how they are doing.
Timeline
1830 - 1860s
Commercial whaling decimates the southern right whales in Aotearoa.
They were called the ‘right’ whale to hunt because of their slow moving, curious and docile natures.
1920s
As few as 40 tohorā remain in New Zealand.
1946
New Zealand becomes one of the founding members of the International Whaling Commission (IWC).
1978
The Marine Mammals Protection Act is established, protecting all marine mammals within New Zealand’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
1994
The Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary is established by the IWC.
Combined with the Indian Ocean Sanctuary, almost a third of the world’s ocean is now a whale sanctuary!
2009
Approximately 2,000 southern right whales are recorded, signalling a recovery
2020
$22,000 raised by Live Ocean supporters for Emma’s voyage to the Sub-Antarctic Auckland Islands and satellite tracking equipment
Live Ocean also provided funding to send Richard Robinson and Arie Spyksma on voyage to capture 3D VR footage which has been rolled out to schools across New Zealand through BLAKE.
Aug 2020
6 satellite tags are deployed during Dr Emma Carroll’s first research voyage to the Auckland Islands.
Aug 2021
11 satellite trackers are deployed during Dr Emma Carroll’s second research voyage to the Auckland Islands.
Jul 2022
Start of the world’s first circumpolar simultaneous satellite tagging program involving research teams from New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and South America gets underway.
8 satellite tags are deployed in the Auckland Islands, including the first two tracking the movements of southern right whale mums and their calf.
Oct 2022
Richard Robinson’s image “New life for tohorā” captured while on the 2021 research voyage wins Oceans – The Bigger Picture section of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition run by the Natural History Museum.
“We can’t be the first country in the world to lose an albatross species. That’s not a race New Zealand should win.”
Blair Tuke
Founder – Live Ocean
Over the course of three consecutive winters between 2020 and 2022, Dr Emma Carroll and her research team from the University of Auckland put satellite trackers on 35 tohorā southern right whales.
The tracking data collected astounded scientists, unexpectedly showing that most of the whales travelled from Maungahuka Auckland Islands, west under Australia, rather than to the east of New Zealand as whaling records indicated.
The research then analysed 135 individual biopsies with pioneering genomics approaches and state of the art reading of micro-chemical markers to reveal where whales have been travelling through stable isotope analysis. The results were that the Maungahuka Auckland Islands tohorā primarily feed at mid-latitudes (40-50 degrees South), which is positive as ecosystems in these regions are currently less sensitive to climate change. It also showed that these mid-latitude foraging areas have been important to Maungahuka Auckland Islands tohorā for centuries, as the historical whaling catch data strongly overlapped geographically with where they feed today.
IMPACT
At A Glance
whales were tracked as part of Emma’s southern right whale research
Tracking data from the 2020/21 has provided the first links to both Antarctica and the historically important region east of Aotearoa in the last 150 years.
Bill the whale swam 1/3 of the way round the world in one year, with his path tracking through proposed Antarctic Marine Protected Areas .
Whales fertilise phytoplankton. Even a 1% increase in phytoplankton would be equivalent to the sudden appearance of 2 billion mature trees.
GLOBAL COLLABORATION
2022 saw the world’s first circumpolar simultaneous satellite tagging program with Australian, South African and South American research teams. The New Zealand – University of Auckland research tagging data following this program has helped to inform policy and decision-making aimed at enhancing the protection of New Zealand’s tohorā southern right whale population from vessel strike.
The research team has developed an animation of whale and vessel movements in southern NZ waters, highlighting where the whales are exposed to risks associated with vessel presence.
OUR IMPACT
This global collaboration also facilitated improved relationships between Indigenous peoples, governments, agencies, researchers and communities. The addition of the Australian southern right whale research Mirnong Maat to the Tohorā Voyages website provided a unique platform to recognise the Indigenous Australian connection to the southern right whales in southwest Australia.
Through our donors, Live Ocean Foundation provided pivotal funding for all three voyages to obtain this vital information.
The images on this page were taken on assignment by New Zealand Geographic photographer Richard Robinson at Port Ross in the subantarctic Auckland Islands. Coverage taken under New Zealand Department of Conservation permit.
PROJECT PARTNERS
Dr Emma Carroll
Associate Professor, University of Auckland
Emma Carroll weaves together different tools and technologies with statistical and bioinformatic models to understand and monitor natural populations, with over 15 years experience working with marine mammals.
Emma is a Royal Society of New Zealand Te Apārangi Rutherford Discovery Fellow at the School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland and is co-lead on the International Whaling Commission (IWC) Southern Ocean Research Partnership theme on southern right whales.
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