Press on both sides of the Arabian Sea for Luban, the tagged humpback whale
Since our earlier post on December 27th, Luban, the humpback whale tagged off the coast of Oman in November 2017, has continued to attract attention featuring in press articles on both sides of the Arabian Sea. Luban spent several days off the southwest coast of India, and ASWN member, Dipani ...
Humpback whale tagged off the coast of Oman crosses Arabian Sea to India
Official press release from the Environment Society of Oman (27 December, 2017): “Luban” an Arabian Sea Humpback Whale tagged in the Gulf of Masirah last month, has made the first recorded trans-oceanic crossing across the Arabian Sea. “Luban” is one of 14 whales that have been tagged by the Environment ...
Humpback whale mother and calf observed off the coast of the United Arab Emirates
On October 9th 2017 a number of sightings of a mother and calf humpback whale were reported off the coast of Dubai (United Arab Emirates) to the UAE Dolphin Project (www.uaedolphinproject.org) and were shared with regional researchers and the general public (http://tinyurl.com/yb99vxtm). These sightings represent the first recent record of ...
Pre-print manuscript published on humpback whales in the Persian Gulf
A pre-print manuscript is available collating and describing all the known records of humpback whales in the Persian Gulf. The paper (see full link and abstract below), is the result of a collaborative effort between many researchers working in Iran and the rest of the region, and helps to clarify ...
Sperm whales and blue whales sighted by fishermen off the coast of Pakistan
We have featured a few earlier posts about the exciting reports of live whale sightings that are made by WWF-Pakistan's crew-based observers working from fishing boats off the coast of Karachi and beyond. As fishing resumes in the post-monsoon season, the first reports of 2017 are starting to arrive. As ...
New genetic comparison of all Southern Hemisphere humpback whales confirms unique status of Arabian Sea population
A recently published paper by ASWN member Howard Rosenbaum features a comparison of genetic samples collected from humpback whales off the coast of Oman with all other sampled populations in the Southern Hemisphere. It is the largest study of its kind and helps illuminate unseen connections between populations. The study of ...
Astola Island declared Pakistan’s first Marine Protected Area
Astola Island, located about 39 kilometres east of Pasni, Balochistan, in the Arabian Sea, has been declared the first dedicated Marine Protected Area (MPA) in Pakistan. The island and it surrounding waters are known to provide important habitat to many marine species, including Arabian Sea humpback whales. Covering an area ...
Exciting new discoveries in India and Sri Lanka”
During recreational scuba dives over the course of two days in March 2017, Ajey Patil, a dive instructor in Goa (www.divegoa.com) and divers Khush and Venkat from Barracuda Dive Club heard something new under water: A series of strange and wonderful sounds that Ajey later described as "Honks, Grunts, Moo's, and ...
Arabian Sea Whales at the 2017 meeting of the Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission
Last week several ASWN members had the opportunity to attend the Scientific Committee (SC) meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in Bled. A wide range of papers was presented, highlighting the important work conducted by ASWN members and their colleagues over the past year, and leading to renewed IWC endorsement ...
The Arabian Sea Humpback Whale Infographic is ready for distribution!
After months of planning, ASWN members have finalized an infographic designed to raise awareness of the unique nature of Arabian Sea Humpback whales and the urgent conservation challenges they face. The infographic was made possible with financial support from the Emirates Wildlife Society-WWF, and was designed by Agenda 28 in consultation ...
