Blue Whale Conservation - Chile

This project is based in Chile in the Chiloé-Corcovado region. Until recently, this was a pristine marine wilderness. About five years ago, it was realised that a lot of blue whales were visiting the region with their young, so it looked like it was quite important area for the species. The project is called “Sounding the Blues” and it involves the long-term acoustic monitoring of blue whales.

It is an essential part of an ecological baseline study to find out how many blue whales there are, what they're doing and how they communicate and interact with each other. It is a vital part of monitoring if their populations remain healthy. Started in 2007, the first field sequence recorded some previously unknown sounds, which is a first in terms of behavioural studies.

The blue whale is the largest animal ever to have lived on the Earth. It measures up to 30 metres (100 feet) long and weighs up to 200 tonnes. The blue whale needs huge areas of the ocean to have a healthy population.

The project leader is Suzie Buchan, a PhD student based at the University of St Andrews, who is supported by One World Wildlife. She is supervised by Rodrigo Hucker-Gates, Instituto de Ecología y Evolución, Universidad Austral de Chile, and also by Luke Rendell.

There are a lot of potential threats to this area, such as marine agriculture, i.e. the pressure for fishing and salmon farms. These lead to an increase in chemicals added to the water, a build-up of toxins and parasites that can impact seals and dolphins as well as whales and other creatures that live in this area.

We aim to demonstrate that this region is important for the whales from an international point of view. If we can set up monitoring, we can use this to obtain funding from the Darwin Initiative, which provides grants for international conservation projects. One World Wildlife has committed around £8,000 over two years so far, and we hope to leverage more support from the Darwin Initiative for broader conservation in the area. Ultimately, we would like to see the area become a mixed-use marine reserve, which would mean any use of the area for commercial fisheries would be planned and sustainable and would not harm certain species.

Further investigation is needed. It could be that this area is essential for blue whales as so many congregate in this area. We believe it is critical for the overall life history of the whales.

Suzie Buchan presented some of the acoustics data at the 2008 International Whaling Commission conference. She has played this new "song" in radio campaigns and other outreach initiatives in the region. Along with her colleagues, she is hoping to persuade local fishermen to be involved in the project and encourage them to value their national heritage, to take pride in this remarkable animal and the home they share with it.