Not long now

till our waters are filled with the South Pacific Humpback Whales, Megaptera novaeangliae. These whales have migrated up from the cold waters of the Antarctic for the last few weeks, and are ready to find a mate or bear a calf.

The Oceania population spans itself out through the Polynesian isles with the majority filling our waters here in Vava'u. The population is recovering very slowly after years of being hunted, information gathered in the last few years on the Russian hunting, has shown that over 25,000 Humpbacks were hunted during the two seasons of 1959/60 and 1960/61, causing a population crash.

The IWC  gave protection from the commercial hunting of Humpback whales in 1966, but the Soviet union continued to hunt them until 1972. The braveness of the scientists who have come forward to show this information is remarkable. I wish many more countries would come forward and show there tallies so that a better understanding of the population can be gathered.

As the IWC meeting looms just around the corner, the much debated decision on commercial whaling will be placed on the table. Australia remains firm on its stance, as well as taking the whaling industry of Japan to court. The EU seems divided, America shows signs of signing the compromise but we will only know on the day whether:

1) the whales will continue to be hunted without regulated management
2) will we see the end of "commercial whale hunting"
3) will the flaunting of the moratorium continue.

Would the hunting of less whales under a manged plan be better than the current status, or will politics prevail over conservation and a continuation of the current whaling plans of Norway, Iceland, Japan and others?

As we have seen with the Atlantic Blue Fin Tuna, politics often win, so can a combined conservation plan come for once in front of politics and countries stance?

We will see, we can only hope that a decision will be made that benefits those that have the most invested :the cetacean species that have lived and survived in the oceans for millions of years. I hope that a decision will benefit the species, their habitats, food sources and migration routes.

What I fear is another stand off, that things will carry on as they are, that more whales will be hunted and slaughtered worldwide.

So what can we do?

1. At sea this year we will be continuing and expanding our fluke identification programme, as well as recording the wonderful song of the male whales as they sing for a mate and to show dominance. All our data collected is sent to the South Pacific Whale Research Consortium who study all cetacean species in the Pacific. 
2. We will also be offering slide shows to our groups for further information on cetaceans, and a small gift for each of our guests to take home with them.
3. Continuing to support and promote sustainable tourism in small countries who are whom to Cetacean species, both by creating jobs for locals and awareness programmes in schools and communities.

These whales that come to the waters of Vava'u offer us a wonderful insight into their lives and behaviours. We are privileged to be able to watch these magnificent creatures and we look forward to sharing these experiences with you this year.