First humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) re-sighting between Azorean waters and the Barents Sea (Murman coast, northwestern Russia)

Santos, Rui; Martins, Rafael; Chaiko, Anton; Cheeseman, Ted; Jones, Lindsey S.; Wenzel, Frederick W.

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.1/17634

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Abstract(s)

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) are one of the most well studied baleen whales worldwide and one of the species targeted during the historic North Atlantic whaling period. Northwestern Russia (Barents Sea), a poorly studied region for humpbacks, is recognized as an important fshing area for their prey capelin (Mallotus villosus). In the last century, this fsh species collapsed, possibly due to overfshing both in Russian and Norwegian waters, which led to these governments imposing strict fshing restrictions. In past decades the southern part of the Barents Sea has faced warming ocean temperatures and less sea ice. Here, we present the frst humpback photographic match between the Azores and northwestern Russia (Murmansk, Barents Sea). A humpback whale sighted on 14 March 2019 in the Azorean waters, was resighted opportunistically on 21 June, 2019 of the Murman coast, Russia. The estimated distance between the two sites is approximately 6778 km, representing a migratory speed of 2.88 km·h−1. Strict regulations on the summer capelin fsheries in the Murman coastline and Barents Sea, along with global warming may lead to new habitats for both fsh prey and predators (i.e., humpback whales) to return to this region.