3S² 2013 cruise: behavioural response to sonar of the northern bottlenose whale and minke whale

With three weeks already at sea aboard the Norwegian research vessel, H.U. Sverdrup, we are heading into the last week of our 2013 Arctic
cruise. Since 15 June, we have been surveying the coastal waters of Vestfjord, Lofoten, Norway, and the offshore waters near the Island of
Jan Mayen located on the mid-Atlantic ridge.

During this 3S2 2013 cruise, we aim to investigate the behavioural response to sonar exposure of both species. The northern bottlenose whale inhabits offshore deep waters, and the waters near Jan Mayen Island potentially form a hotspot for this species in the Atlantic Ocean. Minke whales generally prefer more shallow waters and we aim to search for them on shallow banks southwest of the island, as well as in Vestfjord where the 3S project has taken place in previous years. Due to the remoteness of the island, located 600 km northeast of Iceland, 500 km east of central Greenland and 1,000 km west of the North Cape, Norway, information about the population of northern bottlenose whales and minke whales is largely unknown.

Jan Mayen island, a formal important whaling ground for the Dutch whaling fleet in the sixteen hundreds, is currently a nature reserve under the Norwegian jurisdiction to preserve its pristine Arctic flora and fauna, and marine habitat. The impressive snow-covered Beerenberg volcano (2277m) rises high above the steep cliffs of volcanic lava, which forms the habitat of large breeding colonies of seabirds. Many of us set foot on the island for the first time when we were invited by the local crew of the Norwegian weather and geographical station on
Jan Mayen, to join them for the Midsummer-night celebration at the beach landing at Batvika on the south shore. We enjoyed a wonderful night and barbeque in a surreal surrounding thanks to the hospitality of the local people.

During our three weeks at sea, we worked with minke whales, killer whales and long-finned pilot whales in Vestfjord. As we moved towards deeper waters further offshore, encountered baleen whales including fin, blue, and humpback whales.

During our two weeks working in the deep waters surrounding the Island, we encountered many groups of northern bottlenose whales and successfully conducted one controlled sonar exposure experiment, which resulted in the first behavioural response data for this beaked whale species. We collected 17 hours of detailed dive and acoustic data using the suction cup mounted DTAG.

We aim to conduct more experiments with both the minke- and northern bottlenose whale the coming days, and enjoy the Arctic marine wildlife as we work in this cold, but fascinating environment.