Dear all,

We are proud to announce the launch of a new web-site dedicated to the recent work around the North Norwegian Humpback Whale Catalogue (NNHWC).

Recent years (2010-2016) have seen the annual recurrence of large schools of Norwegian Spring Spawning herring (Clupea harengus) in local fjord systems in Northern Norway during winter-time. This herring superabundance attracts humpback whales that use the region as a temporary feeding stopover area before embarking on their migration southward.

These extended winter visits to Norwegian fjord systems by a substantial fraction of the Barents Sea humpback whale population has provided a unique research opportunity. In order to study the residence time and habitat-use within the fjords, and to assess their affiliations within a larger North Atlantic context, an ambitious photo-identification effort was initiated in 2010: the North Norwegian Humpback Whale Catalogue (NNHWC).

The NNHWC currently comprise of identification images of more than 810 individual humpback whales from 2010 – 2016. In order to facilitate the photo-ID process, and to attract the interest and participation of the growing number of interested locals and tourists visiting the area, we have established an interactive online web-portal for direct submission and open interactive analysis of ID-photos contributed both by dedicated researchers and the public. The NNHWC form part of a larger international research collaboration with the aim to study the ecosystem effects of herring superabundance in North Norwegian fjord systems.

The NNHWC is an on-going long-term research project in close co-operation with the North Atlantic Humpback Whale Catalogue (NAHWC) at the College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor, Maine, USA.

For further inquiries please contact us on e-mail:
whaleobs@akvaplan.niva.no

The web-portal and NNHWC is available online at:
http://www.hvalid.no

Kind regards,
Fredrik Broms and Martin Biuw

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Fredrik Broms – NNHWC Founder and Administrator

Akvaplan-niva AS, Arctic Research and Development

High North Research Centre for Climate and the Environment, P.O. Box 6606 Langnes, Tromsø, Norway

E-mail: fredrik.broms@akvaplan.niva.no