IMAS Metadata Catalogue
NESP MaC Project 1.22 - A photo-identification study of southern right whales to update aggregation area classification in the southwest of Australia
This record provides an overview of the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub small-scale study - "A photo-identification study of southern right whales to update aggregation area classification in the southwest of Australia". For specific data outputs from this project, please see child records associated with this metadata.
--------------------
The population of Southern Right Whales (SRW) in the Southern Hemisphere has been recovering slowly from near extinction due to its decimation from whaling before its ban in the mid-1970’s. The population that visits the Australian coast each year to breed is estimated to have increased by about 4–5% per year in the past two decades, bringing the total population to approximately 3,500 whales. As the population increases, the whales extend their breeding areas into previously occupied suitable habitat. As the species recovers, there is increasing evidence of expansion of aggregation areas. Consequently, there is a need to update known established aggregation areas and Biologically Important Areas (BIAs) and update relevant Marine Parks management plans based on new evidence.
Flinders Bay and Geographe Bay off south-western Western Australia were likely to have been important calving areas before commercial whaling began. Much of this habitat is popular for recreational boating and other marine activities. This project collated and completed photo-ID matching of southern right whale images collected between 2010 to 2020 in the southwest of Australia, and uploaded these to the Australasian Right Whale Photo-Identification Catalogue (ARWPIC). The photo-ID matching outcomes provide evidence that Flinders Bay and Geographe Bay now fit the criteria to be recognised nationally as Biologically Important Areas (BIAs) for Southern Right Whales.
Outputs
• Photo-identifications of individual whales in southwestern Australia for 1991-2021 (photo-matches contributed to ARWPIC)
• Final Project Report, including evidence and recommendations for updating aggregation area classification in the southwest of Australia according to the Commonwealth criteria [written]
Simple
Identification info
- Date (Creation)
- 2021-03-01
Resource provider
Principal investigator
Collaborator
Collaborator
- Purpose
- To provide key knowledge on SRWs that will enable improved management and policy around human activities and their potential impacts in critical breeding/calving habitat in Australia’s southwest at both Commonwealth and state levels.
- Credit
- National Environmental Science Program (NESP) Marine and Coastal Hub
- Credit
- Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW), Australian Government
- Credit
- In addition to NESP (DCCEEW) funding, this project is matched by an equivalent amount of in-kind support and co-investment from project partners and collaborators.
- Status
- Completed
Point of contact
- Topic category
-
- Biota
Extent
Temporal extent
- Time period
- 2021-09-01 2022-04-30
- Maintenance and update frequency
- As needed
- Keywords (dataSource)
-
- National Environmental Science Program (NESP) Marine and Coastal Hub
- Keywords (Theme)
-
- southern right whales
- endangered species
- migratory species
- biologically important areas
- critical habitat
Resource constraints
- Classification
- Unclassified
Resource constraints
- Use limitation
- This project was funded by the Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) through the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub.
Resource constraints
- Linkage
-
http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by/4.0/88x31.png
License Graphic
- Title
- Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
- Website
-
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
License Text
- Character encoding
- UTF8
Distribution Information
- OnLine resource
-
Final Project Report
Salgado Kent CP, Burton C, Giroud M and Elsdon B (2022) A photo-identification study of southern right whales to update aggregation area classification in the southwest of Australia. Report to the National Environmental Science Program. Edith Cowan University.
- OnLine resource
-
Project page on NESP Marine and Coastal Hub website
Metadata
- Metadata identifier
-
urn:uuid/435a4b98-d5f8-48be-8b9c-79812afd094d
- Language
- English
- Character encoding
- UTF8
Point of contact
- Parent metadata
Type of resource
- Resource scope
- Field session
- Name
- MaC Hub Project 1.22
- Metadata linkage
-
https://metadata.imas.utas.edu.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/catalog.search#/metadata/435a4b98-d5f8-48be-8b9c-79812afd094d
Point of truth URL of this metadata record
- Date info (Creation)
- 2022-03-01T12:00:00
- Date info (Revision)
- 2025-02-03T16:34:15
Metadata standard
- Title
- ISO 19115-3:2018
Overviews
Spatial extent
Provided by
