Southern right whale movements, dive behaviour and threat exposure in southern Australia (NESP MaC 3.15)
Updated: 2026-10-26
Southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) in Australia are endangered following severe depletion by commercial whaling. Australian southern right whales comprise two partially differentiated populations, a smaller eastern population and a larger western population. Encounter Bay (SA) lies near the geographic boundary between these populations and is a re-emerging calving and aggregation area. However, the population identity of whales using Encounter Bay, their subsequent coastal and offshore movements, and their exposure to anthropogenic threats is poorly understood. Four southern right whales were satellite tagged in Encounter Bay in June 2024 to investigate migratory movements, connectivity, behaviour and exposure to anthropogenic and environmental threats. The data are provided as (1) raw tracking data containing Argos satellite-tag locations; and (2) locations predicted at six-hour intervals using a state-space model, together with dive metrics summarised for the three hours before and after each modelled location. Spatial risk-exposure data are provided as rasters representing exposure of the tagged whales to climate change, entanglement, chronic underwater noise, pollution and ship strike, together with cumulative exposure across these threats. Exposure was derived by combining spatial patterns of whale occurrence with normalised threat intensity and is expressed from 0 (no exposure) to 1 (maximum exposure). Together, these data describe the coastal and offshore movements of southern right whales, and their spatial exposure to anthropogenic and environmental threats across southern Australian waters. ***EMBARGO NOTE*** This data is embargoed until June 2027. Please contact the MaC Hub Data Manager (Emma.Flukes@utas.edu.au) for access enquiries prior to this date.
Data
- Explore movement and dive behaviour maps in Seamap Australia.
- Explore threat exposure maps in Seamap Australia.
- MaC_3-15_SRW_tracking
- MaC_3-15_SRW_tracking_divedepth
- MaC_3-15_SRW_exposure_threats
- Full metadata link
- https://licensebuttons.net/l/by/4.0/88x31.png
- https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
- {"title":"NESP MaC Project 3.15 - Monitoring, aggregation areas and approaches to improve data effectiveness for southern right whale conservation, 2023-2026 (Murdoch Uni, Flinders Uni, ECU)","recordAbstract":"This record provides an overview of the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub Research Plan 2023 project \"Monitoring, aggregation areas and approaches to improve data effectiveness for southern right whale conservation\". For specific data outputs from this project, please see child records associated with this metadata.\n--------------------\n\nSouthern right whales are listed as Endangered under the EPBC Act and are recovering slowly from historical whaling. In Australia, recovery differs between the growing western population and the more poorly understood eastern population, where available data are largely opportunistic. Improved abundance estimates, photo-identification workflows, aggregation-area assessment, and understanding of connectivity are needed to support conservation management.\n\nThis project delivered priority information for southern right whale conservation through four linked components:\n(1) long-term aerial surveys of the western population;\n(2) expansion and integration of photo-identification datasets within the Australian Right Whale Photo-Identification Catalogue (ARWPIC);\n(3) development of statistical approaches to combine opportunistic and systematic observations; and\n(4) collection of movement and genomic data to assess connectivity between eastern and western subpopulations.\n\nThe project continued annual aerial surveys from Perth to Ceduna to update abundance trends and reproductive parameters for the western population. Photo-identification images and metadata were collated from archived, targeted, and opportunistic sources across eastern and western aggregation areas, supporting matching of individual whales, assessment of reproductive areas, and estimation of population parameters.\n\nThe project also developed methods to expand the use of opportunistic sightings data alongside systematically collected observations, improving capacity to estimate population size, trends, recovery rates, residency, site fidelity, and connectivity. Movement, photo-identification, and genomic data collected near the boundary of the eastern and western subpopulations, particularly around Encounter Bay and adjacent waters, supported assessment of population structure, whale movements, habitat use, and potential exposure to human activities.\n\nThe outputs of this project support updates to the national Southern Right Whale Conservation Management Plan, Biologically Important Area (BIA) mapping, marine park management, and risk assessments for marine industries and tourism. Consultation and engagement with Indigenous groups in South Australia and Western Australia enabled communication of research goals and findings, supported knowledge sharing, and identified opportunities for collaboration and capacity building linked to southern right whale conservation.\n\nOutputs\n• Individual whale photo-identifications in aggregation areas [ARWPIC image catalogue]\n• Aerial survey data for 2023, 2024, 2026 [dataset]\n• Exposure to single and cumulative threats [dataset]\n• Whale tracking tracking, behaviour, and dive data [dataset]\n• Final project report [written]"}
