Dear All, My co-authors and I are pleased to announce the publication of our paper entitled: ' Blue whales off the southern coast of Sri Lanka during the southwest monsoon season' GRACE RUSSELL, MARCUS BRIDGE & MAJA NIMAK-WOOD J. CETACEAN RES. MANAGE. 21: 1-7, 2020 ABSTRACT Observations of 37 individual blue whales were recorded off the southern coast of Sri Lanka during the southwest monsoon season. Sightings were made during a scientific geophysical survey campaign conducted in July and August 2017. Whilst blue whales are regularly recorded on the continental slope of southern Sri Lanka during the northeast monsoon season (NEM) (December-March) and during the two inter-monsoonal periods (March-April and September-October), limited data are available for the SWM (May-September) mostly due to unfavourable weather conditions and a lack of survey effort. In the Northern Hemisphere, blue whales generally undertake seasonal migrations from higher latitude feeding grounds to lower latitude breeding and wintering areas. However, it has been suggested that a population of blue whales in the northern Indian Ocean (NIO) remains in lower latitudes year-round, taking advantage of the rich upwelling areas off Somalia, southwest Arabia and western Sri Lanka. Data from this study support a hypothesis that a certain number of individuals remain off the southern coast of Sri Lanka during the SWM, suggesting that the productivity in this region is sufficient to support their year-round presence. This study fills a knowledge gap on the presence and movement of blue whales in the NIO, highlighting the importance of data that can be obtained from platforms of opportunity. The paper can be access here: https://archive.iwc.int/pages/search.php?search=%21collection15&k= Best wishes Maja Maja Nimak-Wood CSci CMarSci MIMarEst Senior Marine Ecologist Pakefield Road, Lowestoft, NR33 0HT, UK Tel: +44(0) 01502 526253 | Email: maja.nimak-wood@cefas.co.uk<mailto:maja.nimak-wood@cefas.co.uk> World Class Science for the Marine and Freshwater Environment [cid:image001.png@01D4E612.80049210] Follow us on: [cid:image001.gif@01D09A11.D21ECDA0]<https://twitter.com/CefasGovUK>[cid:image002.gif@01D09A11.D21ECDA0]<http://www.linkedin.com/company/cefas> ________________________________ This email and any attachments are intended for the named recipient only. Its unauthorised use, distribution, disclosure, storage or copying is not permitted. If you have received it in error, please destroy all copies and notify the sender. In messages of a non-business nature, the views and opinions expressed are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of Cefas. Communications on Cefas' computer systems may be monitored and/or recorded to secure the effective operation of the system and for other lawful purposes. All messages sent and received by the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science may be monitored in line with relevant UK legislation . <https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/centre-for-environment-fisheries-and-aquaculture-science/about/personal-information-charter>
