West Coast Whale Cruise - In-depth sampling of humpback whale feeding super-groups on the Algoa Voyage 254, November 2018

The West Coast Whale Cruise was conducted on the Algoa Voyage 254 between 1 and 14 November 2018. The cruise operated between the shelf, slope and offshore regions (<2000m depth) off the west coast of South Africa, between Cape Point (-34.36.111, 18.38064) and Groenriviermond (-30.8277, 17.52061). This cruise was undertaken for data collection as part of a collaborative project led by the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) in collaboration with the Whale Unit, Mammal Research Institute of the University of Pretoria, Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (USA), Aqualie Institute (Brazil) and Oregon State University (USA). The greater programme is titled 'Large whale research - genetic relatedness, stock identification, abundance, feeding and migratory behaviours' and has two components, the east coast and west coast components. This cruise focused on the west coast humpback whales.

2018年11月1日至14日，在‘阿尔戈阿航次254’上实施了西海岸鲸鱼巡游。该巡游活动在南非洲西海岸的陆架、斜坡和近海区域（深度小于2000米）进行，覆盖从开普角（-34.36.111，18.38064）至格林里弗蒙德（-30.8277，17.52061）的广阔海域。此次巡游作为由环境事务部（DEA）牵头，与比勒陀利亚大学哺乳动物研究所鲸豚单位、农业、林业和渔业部（DAFF）、美国国家海洋和大气管理局（NOAA）、巴西Aqualie研究所以及美国俄勒冈州立大学共同参与的合作项目的一部分，旨在收集数据。整个项目名为‘大型鲸鱼研究——遗传相关性、种群鉴定、数量、摄食和迁徙行为’，分为东海岸和西海岸两个部分。本次巡游的重点是西海岸座头鲸。