Whale, dolphin hot spot near East Timor

theage.com.au , December 31, 2008 - 1:42PM

Thousands of dolphins and whales have been sighted in the deep waters off East Timor, with scientists hoping the migratory corridor will jump-start the tiny country's tourism sector.

The Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) has conducted the country's first major boat-based survey of cetaceans in a joint project with the Timor-Leste government.

"The dolphins and small whales were literally jumping out of the water all around us, it was hard to know which animal to photograph," said Timorese researcher Jose Monteiro.

Working on board a traditional 20-metre wooden Indonesian vessel, the scientists were surprised to uncover a global hot spot of whale and dolphin activity.

They identified about 10 species of cetaceans, including blue whales, beaked whales, short-finned pilot whales, melon headed whales and six species of dolphins.

Size comparison of all known extant cetacean species.

(Note the human diver at lower right for scale)

In one day alone, more than 1,000 individuals in eight separate pods were spotted over a 50-kilometre stretch of coast.

"This is among the highest level of cetacean abundance ever recorded," said principal scientist Karen Edyvane.

"We were all amazed to see such an abundance, diversity and density of cetaceans."

Prof Edyvane said the findings confirmed that the deep oceanic waters off East Timor - along the Wetar and Ombai straits - were a major migratory route for marine wildlife moving between the Pacific and Indian oceans.

Celestino Barreto de Cunha, director of fisheries management within East Timor's Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, said the marine hot spot could hold the key to the developing nation's tourism industry.

"The government recognises the enormous potential for marine ecotourism along its coast and will proceed very carefully in the development of this industry," he said.

"We are committed to ensuring that this marine biodiversity is protected and we will continue to look to Australia to provide good scientific advice on developing a sustainable marine ecotourism industry."

AIMS project leader Dr Mark Meekan said ecotourism had become one of the world's fastest growing marine industries and could provide a much needed boost to East Timor's economy.

"There are absolutely huge numbers of cetaceans, that is whales and dolphins," he said.

"It is probably a global hot spot for biodiversity of these animals - it's really quite striking."