Whale Discoveries: About Humpbacks

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Waitati, Otago 9060
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Tonga Office
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Private Bag 10
Neiafu, Vava'u
KINGDOM OF TONGA
South Pacific
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Whale watching tours in the Kingdom of Tonga

Whale watching is a rapidly growing industry worldwide with more than 50 countries watching whales at some level. Whales and dolphins use the coastlines of many South Pacific nations for feeding, breeding and migration. From June to October, Tonga's warm, sheltered waters are host to humpback whales. Spinner and bottlenose dolphins are also regularly seen in the Vava'u Island Group. The rare green sea turtle breeds in Tonga waters, and is occasionally seen darting amongst coral heads by snorkellers, though is more likely to be spotted on the water's surface in calm conditions. Vigilant snorkelers might even glimpse a manta ray or eagle ray. Vava'u's extensive reefs of sturdy hard coral teem with small, colourful reef fish including clownfish, damselfish, parrotfish, angelfish, butterflyfish and lionfish. Among the invertebrates are anemones, shrimp, feather stars, sea hares and sea horses.

A relatively new industry in Tonga, whale watching is raising awareness of whale conservation in this ex-whaling community while, at the same time, bringing significant economic benefits to the local community. Today, all whales and dolphins are totally protected by the Tongan Fisheries (Conservation and Management) Regulations 1993.

Tonga has its own national whale watch guidelines, which at once ensure that the whales are not subjected to undue stress and meet visitors' expectations. The eight licensed commercial whale watch operators in Vava'u, including Whale Discoveries, are obliged to conform to these guidelines.

Whale sightings in Vava'u are reliable since the shallow coastline that the whales frequent is accessible to boats. Moreover, the humpback whale is among the most interesting of whales to observe owing to its impressive acrobatic displays such as fluke, flipper and head slapping, lob tailing, spy hopping, and breaching. Provided that everyone observes the guidelines, whale watching can be a rewarding experience.

Following are some aspects of the Humpback Whales that we will share with you during our Whale Watch Week:

complex and co-operative feeding practices in their spring and summer feeding grounds of Antarctica
migration routes of the South Pacific whales north to the tropical waters of Vava'u
mating and calving in Tongan waters (June-November)
vocalizations (whale songs)
aerial displays such as breaching, lob tailing, spy hopping and pectoral slaps
scientific research on Humpbacks
the many ways in which we can promote the conservation of whales, dolphins, marine life and our oceans.

As a sneak preview, following are a few interesting facts about the Humpback Whales...

The gestation period is 11-11.5 months
Calves suckle their mother's milk for 5 to 10 months.
Humpbacks are seasonal feeders during the summer months in Antarctica, consuming as much as 2500 kg of krill, plankton or small fish daily.
They are co-operative feeders whereby a pod forms a bubble net of air from below to trap food on the surface.
Mother Humpbacks lose as much as 25% of their body weight during migration to their calving grounds.
Photos of the underside of Humpback whales' tails are used by scientists for research in identifying and tracking whales in our oceans and in studies of individual animals.
Humpback Whale songs are cyclical at intervals between 5 and 35 minutes; it is thought that the songs change annually when pods interact with other pods on their migration route and in their feeding grounds.
Humpbacks were targets (and still are in some oceans) in the old whaling days as they are slow swimmers and tend to follow coastlines on their migratory routes and in their feeding, mating and calving grounds.
The U.S. Navy has been testing "Low-Frequency Active" sonar program (LFA - designed to detect enemy submarines by flooding vast expanses of the oceans with sound) secretly for years. Now, the Navy wants to deploy LFA across 80 percent of our planet's oceans. LFA noise is billions of times more intense than that known to disturb whale migration and communication. Whales and dolphins depend on their sensitive hearing for survival. Scientists fear that long-term exposure to LFA could push entire populations over the brink into extinction. It is believed that this may be one reason why whales become stranded.
At the 53rd IWC (International Whaling Commission) meeting in London (July 2001) the proposal to establish a South Pacific Whale Sanctuary was rejected as it requires 75% vote majority. 20 countries voted in favour, 13 against and 4 abstained. The determining factor for this loss was Japan buying votes from six East Caribbean nations. The South Pacific Island nations has been denied the privilege of such a sanctuary largely as a result of vote buying by countries not within the sanctuary region.

Learn about these and other interesting aspects of the Humpback Whale and other marine creatures on our educational whale watching and snorkelling excursions aboard Tropic Bird in the Vava'u Archipelago!