Public Urged to Follow Whale Migration Live
PHILIPSBURG:--- The St. Maarten Nature Foundation joined La Reserve Naturelle de St. Martin and its Marine Conservation partners recently placed satellite-tracking tags and took DNA biopsies of some eight whales in the waters surrounding St. Maarten/ St. Martin/ St. Barths and Anguilla. In late March and early April the St. Maarten Nature Foundation partnered with La Reserve Naturelle de St. Martin, the Megara Foundation and marine conservation organizations of the surrounding islands in order to place Argos satellite tracking tags and to take biopsies of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangilae) in our local waters. The main aim of the project was in order to determine the migration patterns of local humpback whales when they leave St. Maarten breeding areas for feeding areas northern climates. Until now there is no real data on where our local humpback whales migrate to although there is some speculation within the scientific community that local whales either migrate to Greenland or the coast of Norway.
The Argos satellite tracking tags were placed by whale expert Mikkel Villem Jensen and biopsies were taken with a crossbow by Biopsy Shooters Tadzio Bervoets, Frank Roncuzzi, Nicolas Maslach and Steeve Ruillet. The biopsy samples were also an important component of the expedition in order to conduct DNA study of the whales. Biopsy samples were shipped to the University of Groningen for study. Whales have a thick layer of blubber and both the satellite tag and the biopsy for DNA analyses caused no discomfort to the animal
The project also includes an exciting educational component; the satellite tags placed in the whales transmit directly to satellites in space which sends a signal to a specialized website. The public can follow in real time the tracking of the whales by logging on to www.seaturtle.org/megara. The Nature Foundation will also be having a naming competition whereby it will be asking the public to name one of the whales, a mother with her calf, that were tagged.
With the information the Nature Foundation and its partners will lobby for a whale sanctuary to be established in local waters. The research also suggests that whale-watching activities with the proper guidelines in place to protect the animals and observers may be a financially beneficial activity to the economy of St. Maarten.
Track the tagged whales live on www.seaturtle.org/megara. The tags for St. Maarten were generously made available by the St. Maarten Harbour Group of companies
Pictures courtesy of MEGARA and participants. Special thanks to Nils Bertrand. A YouTube video of some of the activities can be found on the St. Maarten Nature Foundation YouTube page https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtkfuVD3Zow, with additional pictures on the Nature Foundation Facebook page.
