Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: More and More Whales

By - - and IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

BUENOS AIRES, Nov 3 2008 (IPS) - Studies released in Argentina show that the southern right whale (Eubalaena australis) population is on the rise in the Atlantic, thanks to greater protection of the species. According to the annual census by the National Patagonian Center, the number of these whales has doubled in the past decade in Golfo Nuevo, in the southern Argentine province of Chubut. These giant marine mammals gather there between May and September to mate and to give birth.

Another study, by the Argentine Wildlife Foundation (FVSA), agreed with the data, and added that in September there was a “record”, with 102 right whales counted in one day.

Alejandro Arias, FVSA expert in marine mammals, told Tierramérica that the right whales, like their relatives in South Africa, New Zealand and Australia, are seeing their population grow six percent annually because of local conservation policies.