By Environment & Science Writer
Vital research on whales deep in the Southern Ocean and the icy waters of Antarctica will continue this season, with a research ship from the International Whaling Commission (IWC) due to leave Table Bay harbour on Thursday.
But unlike previous research cruises, this mission will not have any South African whale scientists aboard.
The research ship, Shonan Maru No 2, arrived in Cape Town on Monday to prepare for the 2006/07 International Whaling Commission's Southern Ocean Whale and Ecosystem Research (IWC-SOWER) cruise - a 65-day trip into Antarctic waters.
"The ship will conduct research as part of a 29-year study of the whale populations of the Southern Ocean directed by the IWC's scientific committee, that has so far included three circumnavigation of the Antarctic continent," said local whale expert and committee member Peter Best.
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The ship is provided by the Japanese government, which supports whaling in defiance of the IWC. The research will be conducted by a team of four scientists of three nationalities.
Paul Ensor from New Zealand is the cruise leader. He is supported by Paula Olson from the the United States, Kazuki Fukutome from Japan and Isobel Beasley, also from New Zealand.
The research programme is unanimously supported by the 70 member nations of the IWC, including South Africa.
The research did not involve the capture or killing of animals, and was conducted independently of any whaling operations, said Best.
"Up until now ... the main focus of the cruises has been to obtain data to estimate the population size and distribution of Antarctic minke whales ... and to develop an 'at sea' method to distinguish between the 'true' and 'pygmy' sub-species of blue whale," he said.
The objectives of the 2006/07 cruise are:
To carry out a series of survey experiments to improve and interpret estimates of Antarctic minke whales.
To undertake a feasibility study for fin whale research in waters north of 60°S.
To continue research on blue whales and humpback whales.
The research ship returns to Cape Town on February 23.
Results of the study will be presented at the IWC's annual meeting in Alaska, US, in May and June. For more information, visit www.iwcoffice.org
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This article was originally published on page 4 of Cape Argus on December 19, 2006
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