Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa
26 May 2012 - 2:49 am NZ time
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Watching the whales in Vava'u, Tonga
- Watching the Whales in Vava'u
The South Pacific Whale Research Consortium works to count and identify the humpback whales in their patch. (44′24″)
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The South Pacific Whale Research Consortium works on a shoestring budget to count and identify the humpback whales in their patch. While populations have generally gone up around the world, the status of the South Pacific humpbacks was recently changed to endangered – which is bad news for a species that has already been decimated over the last few decades.
Radio New Zealand producer Justin Gregory visits Tonga to see the work of the Consortium up close, joining Scientist Kirsty Russell on an ocean field trip. He found an organisation working hard to cooperate with the Tongan government and the local whale watching industry - and also trying very hard to get the whales to cooperate with them.
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Justin Gregory visits Tonga for an ocean field trip with scientist Kirsty Russell from the South Pacific Whale Research Consortium.
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