Sperm whale distribution and seasonal density in the Faroe Shetland Channel

Abstract

Results from previous surveys suggest that an area of the northeast Atlantic, the Faroe Shetland Channel, is important for cetaceans. This study utilised passive acoustic survey techniques to evaluate the density of sperm whales in the Channel. Two-week surveys were carried out during oceanographic cruises in May and October 2001, and May 2002. A two hydrophone array was towed behind the vessel throughout the majority of the survey routes and was monitored by a two-person team and by software designed to automatically detect and measure bearings to whales. Distances of individual sperm whales from the trackline were determined using target motion analysis. Standard line transect techniques were applied to calculate the density of whales during surveys. The effects of sea conditions and survey vessel on the ability to detect whales were tested; the encounter rate and effective stripwidth (esw) were estimated independently for each sea state and for each of the vessels. A total of 79 individual whales were detected, and their distances from the trackline were calculated. As a probable result of insufficient sample size and a small effects size, neither the esw nor the encounter rates varied significantly with sea state or between the two survey vessels. The density of sperm whales during each of the surveys was estimated to be 2.05, 0.52 and 1.75 whales per 1,000km2 for the May 2001, October 2001 and May 2002 surveys respectively. Sperm whales were distributed across the majority of the Faroe Shetland Channel. This study has provided the basis for meaningful hypothesis generation in future studies and to gain a better understanding of the factors underlying the spatial and temporal distribution patterns of sperm whales in this area; data on oceanographic, biological and anthropogenic determinants should now be examined.