Citizen Science and Surfing Whales With Vanessa Pirotta

Dr Vanessa Pirotta joins us for a shallow and deep water dive into recent research uncovering more about the Bryde’s whale in Australian waters. In a collaborative research effort, Vanessa explains how the team worked with citizen scientists to document the occurrence of this relatively unknown whale species in Aussie waters. Drones, whale watching platforms and use of social media also identify a novel feeding behaviour- shallow water surf feeding for this species, where some whales appear to be feeding near or within the surf break. We’re talking about a 16 metre whale within only a few metres of water- remarkable! Information gained from this study directly contributes to Australia’s knowledge of this species and will no doubt be useful for future decision making when assessing Biologically Important Areas in Australian waters.