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HHR July-September Newsletter 2016
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Humpbacks & High-Rises

Whale Tails 2016/3

This is our quarterly newsletter bringing you a summary of the urban marine mammal world. Facts, Stories and Events. Join us on the largest mammal migration on earth!
Quarter Summary 
A rare all black fluke photographed this season. Our fluke catalogue now has over 4000 cropped flukes for ID.
Whale Science

HHR supported research was presented in New Zealand, Australia, France and China. At the annual Australian Marine Science meeting we presented work supported by HHR including on-board education on whale watch boats, environmental preferences of humpback whales and impacts of climate change on whale watching. You can check out impacts of our work on our new webpage.

Latest publication:
Meynecke, J.-O., Richards, R., Oz, S. (2016). Whale watch or no watch: the whale watching tourism industry and climate change in Regional Environmental Change.

Science presentations at conferences: 
Reinke, J., Franklin, T., Franklin, W., Meynecke, J.-O., Lemckert, C. (2016). Environmental preferences of humpback whales in Hervey Bay, Australia. Oral presentation at AOGS conference 31st-5th August, Beijing, China.
Reinke, J., Franklin, T., Franklin, W., Meynecke, J.-O., Lemckert, C. (2016). Environmental preferences of humpback whales in Hervey Bay, Australia: an important resting area. Oral presentation at NZMSS/AMSA conference 4th-7th July, Wellington, New Zealand.
Torre-Williams, L., Meynecke, J.-O., Martinez, E., Stockin, K.A. (2016). The role of on-board education in the whale watch industry - A case study from the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. Oral presentation at NZMSS/AMSA conference 4th-7th July, Wellington, New Zealand.
Meynecke, J.-O. (2016). Variations of sea conditions along the east coast of North Island, New Zealand linked to dolphin presence. Oral presentation at NZMSS/AMSA conference 4th-7th July, Wellington, New Zealand.
Meynecke, J.-O., Richards, R., Sahin, O. (2016). Dealing with uncertainty: an innovative method to address climate change adaptation in the whale watch industry. Oral presentation at the 8th International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software 10th-14th July, Toulouse, France.
Meynecke, J.-O., Sullivan, C., Carroll, A., Stevens, T. (2016). Monitoring cetaceans in nearshore coastal waters using hydrophones. Oral presentation at Society for Conservation Biology Oceania 5th-8th July, Brisbane, Australia.

 
A rare sighting of Migaloo passing through the Gold Coast bay at evening light. All white!
Migaloo frenzy

If you did not know that Migaloo was on the gold Coast on the 26th July you must have been out west at the time. Migloo was welcomed on the Gold Coast by helicopters, drones, jet skies, commecial ship, recreational boats and even a fighter jet. There was a questionable debate about it being Migaloo or the son of Migaloo. All researchers using fluke and dorsal fin ID agreed that it was Migaloo. The Migaloo frenzy forced Marine Parks to send a patrol boat to ensure people would keep the required distance. We suggest to simply enjoy this beautiful animal from the distance. 

He finally made it up to Cairns on the 2nd September. Watch him swimming in warm tropical waters here. We expect him to pass the Gold Coast on his southern migration in the next two weeks. So keep an eye out for him. 
Whale Migration peaking

Want to spot a whale? The southern whale migration is peaking as we speaking.

Now is the best time to spot mothers and calves resting in nearshore waters on the Gold Coast. Did you know that the Gold Coast is a resting area? Unfortunaly, we have evidence that mothers and calves were harrassed by jet skies and boats and that regulations were breached on many occasions this whale season. Help us make a difference. Document these breaches and send us images with date, time, location and describtion of incident. We wont rest until they can!
Whale entanglements

Again. We had a number of entanglements on whales in the past 3 months. 

A young whale was entangled in a fishing net in Moreton Bay on the 20th September only freed after a few hours. 

A juvenile humpback whale was entangled in a shark net at Currumbin on the 20th August and later released. 

A juvenile humpback whale was entangled in a shark net at Main Beach on the 10th July with the net removed after it dragged itself further offshore. 

A calf was seen entangled in a shark net near Broadbeach on the 28th September and freed. 

Your tax payer money is used to harm protected marine life. Don't let them get away with this. Sign and share the Stop whale entanglement letter. Do you know a business on the Gold Coast that would like to endorse the open letter? Please, send us an e-mail.
Drone disaster

Our drone TOM died. Only a few month old this new version of a so called „waterproof“ drone lost its connection to the controler and went for a high speed dive into the ocean. He was our only hope to become a snot collector. Now, we are stuck.

This was 3 Grant of personal funds lost in seconds. Even though this research project was featured in August on CNN News, Euro News and Animal Planet, there is still no funding or support neither from universities nor from the government. It is literally up to you to keep this project going. Donate here.
Sea Party

Our annual fun-raiser and ocean awareness event took place on the 13th August at Varsity Lake Tavern. A great number of Gold Coast finest businesses supported our event and we are very grateful for their donations. Some of our HHR members put a huge amount of effort into the event. Highlights were short science talks on whales and turtles and amazing dress ups. Make sure to join us for our whale season celebration in the first week of December.
Thailand expedition

Sail along Thailand’s beautiful west coast and participate in marine research above and below the warm blue waters of the Andaman Sea. Join this expedition of a special kind with education in marine science on manta rays, sharks, corals and plankton.

This trip offers you a life-time experience on a fully- equipped sailing boat in the Andaman Sea scheduled for February 2017 (12th-26th Feb).
 
Two partner projects are supported – a project on zebra sharks that is underway in the region with currently 260 animals in their database and the manta trust project. Both projects are fantastic initiatives to contribute to and we can help them with their research. Further information on the Thailand Expedition page. Please, send expression of interest to science@hhr.org.au
Upcoming Events & volunteer opportunities

You can get involved with community outreach and bringing the message of protecting our marine mammals across south-east Queensland.
  • Take part in the last weeks of whale survey with our HHR research team.
  • On the 19th Nov there is open day at MBRS research station on Straddie. Come to our stall and/or help us out on the day.
  • Want to make an actual difference? Join our small but dedicated team at our monthly general meetings. Held at the end of each month at Griffith Uni. 
Our whale season celebration will be held at Burleigh Heads Surf Club in the first week of December. 
HHR relies on the interest, support and good will of people who feel that protecting marine mammals and learning about them is important. We are honest, independent and stand for the well being of our natural wonders and a sustainable whale watching industry. Our ongoing work entirely depends on donation. Please, consider donating for whale research and protection.
 

HELP URBAN MARINE MAMMALS

You can support whale protection and research in south-east Queensland; a small donation goes a long way.
DONATE NOW

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Humpbacks & High-Rises Inc · Post Office Mail Box 195 · Gold Coast, Queensland 4222 · Australia

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