General information
Tom Akeya and his crew from Savoonga tagged two bowhead whales south of St. Lawrence Island. One whale was tagged on 21 April but did not transmit. The second tag (Ptt 37280; whale B12-1) was deployed on 24 April; this tag is transmitting well and has good battery power. These are the first bowhead whales tagged near St. Lawrence Island. Congratulations to Tom Akeya Crew for their success. Crew members include Travis Lyn Akeya, Walker Craft, Joe Akeya and David Akeya. On 29 April 2012, a 45 foot bowhead was tagged (Ptt 93090; whale B12-2) near Gambell by Clarence Irrigoo, Jr., Courtney Iworrigan, Tony Iworrigan, Kenneth R. Iworrigan, Edgar Campbell, Wilmer Campbell, and Victor Campbell.
We would also like to thank Merlin Koonooka (Gambell) and George Noongwook (Savoonga) for helping to coordinate tagging operations on St. Lawrence. Thanks to John Citta of ADF&G for producing and distributing these maps. Click on the dates to see maps.
2012 Bowhead Satellite Tagging Season
May 1, 2012
Bowhead whale movements. The whale tagged by the Savoonga whalers (B12-1, red track) moved north towards Barrow as of May 1, 2012. The whale tagged by whalers from Gambell (B12-2, yellow track) followed the same path.
May 7, 2012
Bowhead whale movements. Bowhead whale B12-1, tagged at Savoonga, migrated northeast of Barrow, Alaska, as of 7 May 2012. We did not receive a transmission from B12-2, tagged at Gambell, since 1 May. It was stormy in the Bering Sea and we receive fewer transmissions in such weather.
May 18, 2012
Bowhead whale movements. Bowhead whale B12-1, tagged by Savoonga whalers, reached Amundsen gulf by 18 May 2012 and was located at the edge of the landfast ice that was plugging the gulf. We received a single location from bowhead whale B12-2 (tagged by Gambell whalers). It appeared that this whale passed Point Barrow and may have travelled down a flaw lead adjacent to the landfast sea ice that is north of the Alaskan coast.
June 15, 2012
Bowhead whale movements. Both bowhead whales (B12-1 and B12-2) are located in Amundsen Gulf, Canada as of 15 June 2012.
July 2, 2012
Bowhead whale movements. Bowhead whale B12-1 remains in Amundsen Gulf while whale B12-2 passed west of Barrow, Alaska, and continued westward as of 2 July 2012.
July 9, 2012
Bowhead whale movements. Bowhead whale B12-1 remained in Amundsen Gulf, south of Banks Island as of 9 July 2012. Bowhead whale B12-2 traveled far north of Wrangel Island up to 78.3 degrees north, under fragmented but continuous sea ice. This is the first satellite-tagged bowhead whale of the Western Arctic Stock to travel this far north, this early in the year. In 2009, B09-1 traveled to 75.9 degrees north latitude on 20 September, when the area was ice-free. There is virtually no knowledge of whales using this area in July as there are no whaling villages nearby and Yankee whalers could not penetrate this far into the sea ice.
July 23, 2012
Bowhead whale movements. Bowhead whale B12-1 remained in Amundsen Gulf and bowhead whale B12-2 remained approximately 750 km (466 miles) north of Wrangel Island as of 23 July 2012.
August 6, 2012
Bowhead whale movements. Bowhead whale B12-1 headed west in the vicinity of Cape Bathurst, approximately 200 km (125 miles) northwest of Tuktoyaktuk, Canada and bowhead whale B12-2 was approximately 550 km (340 miles) north of Wrangel Island as of 6 August 2012.
August 15, 2012
Bowhead whale movements. Bowhead whale B12-1 was located off Cape Bathurst, approximately 217 km (135 miles) northwest of Tuktoyaktuk, Canada as of 15 August 2012. Bowhead whale B12-2 migrated to the coast of Chukotka, Russia, approximately 200 km (125 miles) south of Wrangel Island. For some reason B12-2 did not transmit often while the whale was migrating, so no locations for this whale since last observed north of Wrangel Island. **Instead of an ice chart, this map uses SSMIS (Special Sensor Microwave Imager/Sounder) data from the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System. This data is provided by the University of Bremen (http://www.iup.uni-bremen.de:8084/ssmis/index.html) and is considered “experimental.” There is little error checking, so there may be regions with sea ice that this satellite does not detect.
August 15, 2012
Bowhead whale movements. On 12 August, Clarence Irrigoo and Waldimar Campbell’s whaling crews tagged a gray whale offshore of Gambell, on Saint Lawrence Island. The gray whale (G12-1) was approximately 30 feet long and was tagged within ¼ mile of shore. The whale remained in the vicinity since tagging as of 15 August 2012. Because this whale did not move very far, the attached map shows locations (red dots) instead of track lines. In addition to the whale tagged, five other gray whales were photographed and four were biopsied. The photos will be compared with gray whales photographed in Russia, California, and Mexico to learn more about gray whale populations and movements.
August 27, 2012
Bowhead whale movements. Bowhead whale B12-1 moved southwest, towards Hershel Island, between Kaktovik and Tuktoyaktuk as of 27 August 2012. Bowhead whale B12-2 was still located along the northern Russian coast. Interestingly, the gray whale (G12-1, green track) that was tagged at Gambell, St. Lawrence Island, moved from the Russian coast to the Diomede Islands, and circled back towards Gambell.
September 10, 2012
Bowhead whale movements. Bowhead whale B12-1 moved west, towards Point Barrow and bowhead whale B12-2 was moving eastbound, towards Alaska as of 10 September 2012. The gray whale G12-1 was located on the southeast shore of St. Matthew Island.
September 17, 2012
Bowhead whale movements. Two bowhead whales were tagged offshore of Point Barrow on 10 September. The first whale (B12-3, orange track) was 45 feet long and tagged by Billy Adams and his crew; the second (B12-4, blue track) was 50 feet long and tagged by Harry Brower, Jr., and his crew (including Craig George). Both tags were transmitting well as of 17 September 2012. Three of these whales (B12-1, B12-3, and B12-4) were near Barrow and headed west-northwest. Bowhead whale B12-2 last transmitted on 10 September near the Russian coast in the southern Chukchi. This tag typically did not yield many locations per day and often goes off the air for multiple days. The gray whale G12-1 was still near St. Matthew Island, travelling up and down the coast.
September 24, 2012
Bowhead whale movements. A 45-foot bowhead whale was tagged near Barrow on 21 September. The tagging crew included Billy Adams, Herbert Toovak, Robin Jonah Kaleak, Wilbur William Leavitt, Harry Brower III, Isaac Leavitt, Joe Skin, and Craig George. The tag B12-5 (pink on the map) is an oceanographic tag, produced by the Sea Mammal Research Unit in St. Andrew’s Scotland (see: http://www.smru.st-and.ac.uk/Instrumentation/CTD/). It will record more detailed data on the shape of individual dives than our usual tags. The tag will also collect data on temperature and salinity (saltiness) at different depths and locations, which will help us identify areas bowhead whales may be feeding. These are the locations as of 24 September 2012.
September 26, 2012
Bowhead whale movements. Four of the tagged bowhead whales were located in the vicinity of the Chukchi Lease Sale Area as of 26 September 2012. This map shows the location of the lease area and daily ice extent. The gray whale was still transmitting near St. Matthew Island (not shown).
October 3, 2012
Bowhead whale movements. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) provided us with the locations of this year’s proposed drilling sites and these are shown as green stars on the attached map. We do not know which sites are active or the level of activity. Bowhead whale B12-1 (changed from red to blue track; B12-4 changed from blue to green track) passed within 12 km (7.5 miles) of the northern-most drilling site. Between 24 September and 2 October, this whale was mostly within 33 km (20 miles) of this drilling site. On 2 October, the whale started moving north and it is currently located 74 km (46 miles) north of the closest site. Another bowhead whale, B12-5 (pink track), passed within 54 km (34 miles) of the closest drilling site, but did not linger in the area. Bowhead whale B12-2 (yellow track) moved into the central Chukchi Sea and was located 162 km (100 miles) southeast of Wrangel Island.
October 17, 2012
Bowhead whale movements. The five bowhead whales were all still located in the central Chukchi as of 17 October 2012. Unlike other years, the bowhead whales appear to be lingering in the central Chukchi and were not migrating directly from Barrow to the northern Russian coast. Sea ice was forming along the Russian coast, so it was interesting to see if the whales would proceed to the Russian coast farther south or pass directly into the Bering Sea this winter. The gray whale was still transmitting and was located near Khatyrka, Russia (approximately 62 N, 176 E). Below is the track of the gray whale from August 12 to October 8, 2012.
October 31, 2012
Bowhead whale movements. Three of the tagged bowhead whales, B12-1, B12-3 and B12-5, were still located within the central Chukchi Sea as of 31 October 2012, and sea ice continued to form along the Russian coast.
November 7, 2012
Bowhead whale movements. Two bowhead whales, B12-1 and B12-3, were located along the ice edge, north of Bering Strait.
November 28, 2012
Bowhead whale movements. Three bowhead whales were still in the Chukchi Sea, northwest of the Diomede Islands as of 28 November 2012. Bowhead whale B12-4 (green track), tagged at Barrow on 10 September, started transmitting again.
December 13, 2012
Bowhead whale movements. Two bowhead whales, B12-1 and B12-3, moved into the Bering Sea and were due north of Gambell as of 13 December 2012.
