Satellite tracks of humpback whales tagged off the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia and tracked to Antarctic feeding grounds. Data can be found here: https://data.aad.gov.au/aadc/argos/display_campaign.cfm?campaign_id=87 Satellite tags were deployed on adult humpback whales with a modified version of the Air Rocket Transmitter System (ARTS, Restech) and a purpose-designed projectile carrier at a pressure of 7.5 – 10 bar. A custom-designed, 80mm anchor section is attached to a stainless steel cylindrical housing containing a location-only transmitter (SPOT-5 by Wildlife Computers, Redmond, Washington, USA and Kiwisat 202 Cricket by Sirtrack, Havelock North, New Zealand). This superseded anchor design resulted in the anchor section disarticulating upon deployment in order to achieve improved tag retention times while minimising impact. The tags were sterilised with ethylene oxide prior to deployment and implanted up to 290mm into the skin, blubber, interfacial layers and outer muscle mass of the whale. Tags were programmed to transmit to the Argos satellite system at various duty cycles and repetition rates for a maximum of 720 transmissions per day. These transmissions are relayed to processing centres which calculate the transmitter’s location by measuring the Doppler Effect on transmission frequency.

Movement and Behavioural Patterns of Whale Sharks at Ningaloo Reef: The Implications for Tourism.

Between February 1983 and May 1985, ~10 500 sharks of 23 species were fin-tagged off northern Australia. Tagging concentrated on the commercially important Carcharhinus tilstoni and C. sorrah. Most recaptures were made in 1984 and 1985 but returns continued until May 1997. In all, 579 tages (5.5%) were recovered. Tag shedding was estimated to be low (0.025 per year for C. tilstoni) and tagging mortality was significantly lower for sharks caught by hand line than by gill-net. Australia gill-netters, Taiwanese gill-netters (fishing in the Australian Fishing Zone) and Australian prawn trawlers accounted for most of the returns. THe maximum distance between the release and recapture positions was > 1100 km, but most returns were made within 50 km of the tagging site. Nearly all the releases were in inshore waters fished by Australian vessels. Although many recaptures were made by the offshore Taiwanese fisher, the Taiwanese fishing effort was much higher than for the inshore Australian fishery, so that releative to fishing effort, relative few sharks moved from inshore to offshore waters.

Distribution, abundance and movement patterns of sharks and rays in the Ningaloo Marine Park, Western Australia

During the 2019 ENRICH Voyage of the CSIRO vessel, RV Investigator, a digital photogrammetric video tracking system was used to collect precise surfacing locations during encounters with mainly Antarctic blue whales, but also some fin whales. The photogrammetric video tracking system is a modern digital video version based on the same operating principle as the that described by Leaper and Gordon 2001, and enables determination of the range and bearing to tracked objects relative to the ship. Video tracking was conducted on 24 occasions for a total of 18 hours. Focal follows were aborted when it was no longer possible to follow the focal animal due to ice or when the presence of other animals meant it was no longer possible to be sure which was the focal animal. Leaper, R. and Gordon, J. 2001. Application of photogrammetric methods for locating and tracking cetacean movements at sea. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management, 3: 131-141.

A series of field trips were made along the entire length of Ningaloo Marine Park (NMP) in May, July, and September 2008. Underwater visual census (UVC) at inner and outer reef sites within both recreational and sanctuary zones (SZ) were undertaken from North West Cape SZ to the Turtle SZ at the southern end of NMP. In total, 132 lobsters from five species were counted from 265 transects and 18 separate locations (58 sites) along the entire coast of the NMP. Sub-tidal surveys on snorkel and SCUBA were used for octopus surveys and were done simultaneously with lobster surveys. In addition to these, inter-tidal surveys were conducted in December 2008 providing total coverage of octopus habitat across a reef profile. In total, just 28 octopus from a single species (Octopus cyanea) were counted from 410 transects (265 subtidal and 145 inter-tidal) and 59 separate sites along the entire coast of the NMP. The specific objectives of this project were: 1) A report on stock status for targeted invertebrate species along the length of Ningaloo Marine Park including octopus and lobster. 2) A characterization of habitats associated with high numbers of targeted species. 3) A comparison of stock abundance in relation to differing levels of visitor access. In addition, a further 6 related questions had been put forward as important to the management of the NMP: 1) What is the species diversity of invertebrates at representative habitats in the NMP? 2) What is the relative abundance of these species and how do they compare with the 'natural' abundance of these species on comparable reefs? 3) How does the abundance of these species change over a gradient of historical and human pressure? 4) Are current fishing regulations appropriate? 5) What should management targets be? 6) What species should be monitored regarding these species?

From April 2007 to June 2009, six field trips were undertaken to investigate the elasmobranch faunal composition of the Ningaloo Marine Park (NMP), determine the distribution and abundance of species, and examine the habitat utilisation, movement patterns and activity space of selected key species. Dive and longline surveys, passive acoustic telemetry and satellite tracking were used to collect data. Of interest to management, was whether existing sanctuary zones were effective for elasmobranchs as well as the location and timing of aggregation sites reported for some species.

A series of field trips were made along the entire length of Ningaloo Marine Park (NMP) in May, July, and September 2008. Underwater visual census (UVC) at inner and outer reef sites within both recreational and sanctuary zones (SZ) were undertaken from North West Cape SZ to the Turtle SZ at the southern end of NMP. In total, 132 lobsters from five species were counted from 265 transects and 18 separate locations (58 sites) along the entire coast of the NMP.Sub-tidal surveys on snorkel and SCUBA were used for octopus surveys and were done simultaneously with lobster surveys. In addition to these, inter-tidal surveys were conducted in December 2008 providing total coverage of octopus habitat across a reef profile. In total, just 28 octopus from a single species (Octopus cyanea) were counted from 410 transects (265 subtidal and 145 inter-tidal) and 59 separate sites along the entire coast of the NMP. The specific objectives of this project were:1) A report on stock status for targeted invertebrate species along the length of Ningaloo Marine Park including octopus and lobster.2) A characterization of habitats associated with high numbers of targeted species.3) A comparison of stock abundance in relation to differing levels of visitor access.In addition, a further 6 related questions had been put forward as important to the management of the NMP:1) What is the species diversity of invertebrates at representative habitats in the NMP?2) What is the relative abundance of these species and how do they compare with the 'natural' abundance of these species on comparable reefs?3) How does the abundance of these species change over a gradient of historical and human pressure?4) Are current fishing regulations appropriate?5) What should management targets be?6) What species should be monitored regarding these species?

Water samples were collected over two weeks directly behind individual whale sharks at Ningaloo Reef, Australia in May, 2019. A total of 56 seawater samples were collected, filtered immediately through sterile 0.22 μm filters, and stored at -80°C. Tissue biopsy samples were then taken from the same animal using a hand spear with a dart head, totalling 77 individual samples. Individual whale sharks were identified by their unique spot and stipe patters through photographs analysed by I³S Classic Software. Re-sightings of the same individual were removed from the dataset. Following photo-identification, a total of 48 unique individuals were confirmed, of which 42 consisted of both tissue and seawater samples. Additional samples were later discarded from the study, resulting in libraries for 28 seawater samples, and whale shark d-loop haplotypes. DNA extractions of the tissue samples were carried out and PCR amplification of the mitochondrial control region and reaction protocol verified. Seawater samples were processed and environmental DNA was extracted. Statistical analysis was performed with R Studio.