Data Sources
We extend our thanks to all the contributors whose invaluable research, data, and insights made this Initiative possible. This collaboration will continue expanding and build on these efforts in the future. Get in contact if you would like to contribute data and become a partner.
Recommended Citation of Blue Corridors Data in data visualisations
Palacios, D., Reisinger, R., Constantine, R., Friedlaender, A., Zerbini, A., Vermuelen, E., Preito, R., De Silva, M., Dulau, V., Panigada, S., Collins, T., Adam, A., Andrews-Goff, V., Andriolo, A., Belda, E. Blanchet, M., Botero Acosta, N., Carroll, E., Cerchio, S., Coscarella, M., Derville, S., Falabella, V., Ferguson, S., Fossette, S. Garrigue, C., Gonzalez, R., Harcourt, R., Heide-Jørgensen, M.P., Herr, H., Jackson, J., Kennedy, A., Kovacs, K., Lauriano, G., Lawson, J., Lesage, V., Lydersen, C., Matthews, C., Panigada, V., Riekkola, L., Rikardsen, A., Robbins, J. Rosenbaum, H., Saloma, A., Schorr, G., Seakamela, M., Sepúlveda, M., Sironi, M., Sprogis, K., Trudelle, L., Uhart, M., Vely, M., Watt, C., Willson, A., Willson, M.S., and Wilson, J. (2026). Protecting Blue Corridors Dataset - bluecorridors.org
Citation for the global Protecting Blue Corridors report (2022), which forms the basis for the case studies and solutions presented
Johnson, C., Reisinger, R., Palacios, D., Friedlaender, A., Zerbini, A., Willson, A., Lancaster, M. , Battle, J., Graham, A., Cosandey-Godin, A., Jacob T., Felix, F., Grilly, E., Shahid, U., Houtman, N., Alberini, A., Montecinos, Y., Najera, E. and Kelez, S. (2022). Protecting Blue Corridors, Challenges and Solutions for Migratory Whales Navigating International and National Seas. WWF, Oregon State University, University of California, Santa Cruz, Publisher: WWF International, Switzerland.
https://zenodo.org/records/6196131
SATELLITE TELEMETRY DATA01
Satellite tracks displayed in infographics and maps were kindly provided by the following researchers and research groups or is available as supplementary data online.
Species Area # of tracks contributors contact citation/source |
Antarctic minke whales Southern Ocean - Antarctic Peninsula 20 University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC) Friedlaender, A.S., Joyce, T., Johnston, D.W., Read, A.J., Nowacek, D.P., Goldbogen, J.A., Gales, N. and Durban, J.W., Sympatry and resource partitioning between the largest krill consumers around the Antarctic Peninsula. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 669, pp.1-16. (2021). |
Blue Whales Eastern North Pacific 194 Daniel Palacios (Oregon State University) Daniel Palacios Mate, B. R., Lagerquist, B. A. & Calambokidis, J. Movements of North Pacific Blue Whales During the Feeding Season Off Southern California and Their Southern Fall Migration. Mar. Mamm. Sci. 15, 1246–1257 (1999). |
Hucke-Gaete, R., Bedri ana-Romano, L., Viddi, F. A., Ruiz, J. E., Torres-Florez, J. P. & Zerbini, A. N. From Chilean Patagonia to Galapagos, Ecuador: Novel insights on blue whale migratory pathways along the Eastern South Pacific. PeerJ 2018, 1–22 (2018). |
Bedri ana-Romano, L., Hucke-Gaete, R., Viddi, F. A., Johnson, D., Zerbini, A. N., Morales, J., Mate, B. & Palacios, D. M. Defining priority areas for blue whale conservation and investigating overlap with vessel traffic in Chilean Patagonia, using a fast-fitting movement model. Sci. Rep. 11, 1–16 (2021). |
Blue Whales Northwest Atlantic - Canada 24 Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada Véronique Lesage Lesage, V., Gavrilchuk, K., Andrews, R.D. and Sears, R. Foraging areas, migratory movements and winter destinations of blue whales from the western North Atlantic. Endangered Species Research, 34, pp.27-43. (2017). |
Andrews-Goff, V., Bell, E.M., Miller, B.S., Wotherspoon, S.J. and Double, M.C. Satellite tag derived data from two Antarctic blue whales (Balaenopteramusculusintermedia) tagged in the east Antarctic sector of the Southern Ocean. Biodiversity Data Journal, 10, p.e94228. (2022). |
Blue, fin, Sei whales Azores - Central Atlantic Blue = 13 University of the Azores Silva, M. A., Prieto, R., Jonsen, I., Baumgartner, M. F. & Santos, R. S. North Atlantic blue and fin whales suspend their spring migration to forage in middle latitudes: building up energy reserves for the journey? PLoS One 8, e76507 (2013). |
Bowhead whales North Atlantic - Spitsbergen 13 Norweigan Polar Institute Christian Lydersen Lydersen, C., Vacqui -Garcia, J., Heide-J rgensen, M. P., ien, N., Guinet, C. & Kovacs, K. M. Autumn movements of fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) from Svalbard, Norway, revealed by satellite tracking. Sci. Rep. 10, 16966 (2020). |
Bowhead whales Northwest Atlantic - Canada 96 Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada Steve Ferguson Fortune S., S. H. Ferguson, A. Trites, B. LeBlanc, V. LeMay, J. M. Hudson, M. F. Baumgartner. Seasonal diving and foraging behaviour of Eastern Canada-West Greenland bowhead whales. MEPS 643: 197-217. (2020). Pomerleau C, Patterson TA , Luque S , Lesage V, Heide-Jørgensen MP , Dueck LL , and Ferguson SH. Bowhead whale Balaena mysticetus diving and movement patterns in the eastern Canadian Arctic: implications for foraging ecology. Endangered Species Research 15: 167-177. (2011). Ferguson, SH, L Dueck, LL Loseto, SP Luque. Bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus) seasonal selection of sea ice. Marine Ecology Progress Series 411: 285-297. (2010). |
Unpublished. |
Bryde’s whale Northeast Pacific - California 1 Oregon State University Daniel Palacios Unpublished. |
Cotté, C., Guinet, C., Taupier-Letage, I. & Mate, B. Scale-dependent habitat use by a large free-ranging predator, the Mediterranean fin whale. Deep Sea Res. Part I (2009). |
Panigada, S., Donovan, G. P., Druon, J. N., Lauriano, G., Pierantonio, N., Pirotta, E., Zanardelli, M., Zerbini, A. N. & Di Sciara, G. N. Satellite tagging of Mediterranean fin whales: Working towards the identification of critical habitats and the focussing of mitigation measures. Sci. Rep. 7, 1–12 (2017). |
Fin whales Mediterranean to North Atlantic 2 Tethys Research Institute Simone Panigada Unpublished |
Panigada, V., Bodey, T.W., Friedlaender, A., Druon, J.N., Huckstädt, L.A., Pierantonio, N., Degollada, E., Tort, B. and Panigada, S. Targeting fin whale conservation in the North-Western Mediterranean Sea: insights on movements and behaviour from biologging and habitat modelling. Royal Society Open Science, 11(3), p.231783. (2024). |
Unpublished |
Irvine, L. M., Lagerquist, B. A., Schorr, G. S., Falcone, E. A., Mate, B. R., & Palacios, D. M. . Ecological drivers of movement for two sympatric marine predators in the California current large marine ecosystem. Movement Ecology, 13(1), 19 (2025). |
Jimenez Lopez, M.E., Palacios, D.M., Jaramillo Legorreta, A., Urbán R, J. and Mate, B.R. Fin whale movements in the Gulf of California, Mexico, from satellite telemetry. PLoS One, 14(1), p.e0209324 (2019). |
Fin whales Southeast Pacific - Chile 6 Universidad Valparaíso Sepúlveda, M., Pérez-Álvarez, M. J., Santos-Carvallo, M., Pavez, G., Olavarría, C., Moraga, R. & Zerbini, A. N. From whaling to whale watching: Identifying fin whale critical foraging habitats off the Chilean coast. Aquat. Conserv. 28, 821–829 (2018). |
Fin whales Southern Ocean - Antarctic Peninsula 4 University of Hamburg Alfred Wegener Institute Helena Herr Herr, H., Hickmott, L., Viquerat, S. and Panigada, S. First evidence for fin whale migration into the Pacific from Antarctic feeding grounds at Elephant Island. Royal Society Open Science, 9(9), p.220721 (2022). |
Lydersen, C., Vacqui -Garcia, J., Heide-J rgensen, M. P., ien, N., Guinet, C. & Kovacs, K. M. Autumn movements of fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) from Svalbard, Norway, revealed by satellite tracking. Sci. Rep. 10, 16966 (2020). |
Fin whales Northwest Atlantic - Canada 28 Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada Christian Ramp [email protected] Veronique Lesage [email protected] Ramp, C., Lesage, V., Ollier, A., Auger-Méthé, M. and Sears, R. Migratory movements of fin whales from the Gulf of St. Lawrence challenge our understanding of the Northwest Atlantic stock structure. Scientific Reports, 14(1), p.11472 (2024). |
Fin whales Northwest Atlantic - Canada 11 Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada Steve Ferguson Unpublished |
Mate, B. R., Ilyashenko, V. Yu., Bradford, A. L., Vertyankin, V. V., Tsidulko, G. A., Rozhnov, V. V. & Irvine, L. M. Critically endangered western gray whales migrate to the eastern North Pacific. Biology Letters, 11(4), 20150071 (2015). |
Humpback whales Eastern North Pacific - Hawaii 49 Oregon State University Daniel Palacios Mate, B. R., Gisiner, R. & Mobley, J. Local and migratory movements of Hawaiian humpback whales tracked by satellite telemetry. Can. J. Zool. (1998). |
Humpback whales Eastern North Pacific - Mexico 46 Oregon State University Daniel Palacios Lagerquist, B. A., Mate, B. R., Ortega-Ortiz, J. G., Winsor, M. & Urb n-Ramirez, J. Migratory movements and surfacing rates of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) satellite tagged at Socorro Island, Mexico. Mar. Mamm. Sci. 24, 815–830 (2008). Oregon State University, unpublished. |
Humpback whales Northeast Pacific - Southeast Alaska 46 Oregon State University Daniel Palacios Mate, B., Mesecar, R. & Lagerquist, B. The evolution of satellite-monitored radio tags for large whales: One laboratory’s experience. Deep Sea Res. Part 2 Top. Stud. Oceanogr. 54, 224–247 (2007). |
Humpback whales Northeast Pacific - Southeast Alaska 5 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Amy Kennedy Kennedy, A.S., Zerbini, A.N., Rone, B.K. and Clapham, P.J. Individual variation in movements of satellite-tracked humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae in the eastern Aleutian Islands and Bering Sea. Endangered Species Research, 23, pp.187-195 (2014). |
Humpback whales Southwest Pacific - New Caledonia 65 IRD Opération Cétacés Solène Derville and Claire Garrigue Derville S, Torres LG, Zerbini AN, Oremus M, Garrigue C. Horizontal and vertical movements of humpback whales inform the use of critical pelagic habitats in the western South Pacific. Sci Rep 10:4871 (2020). Garrigue C, Clapham PJ, Geyer Y, Kennedy AS, Zerbini AN. Satellite tracking reveals novel migratory patterns and the importance of seamounts for endangered South Pacific Humpback Whales. R Soc Open Sci 2:150489 (2015) Garrigue C, Zerbini AN, Geyer Y, Heide-Jørgensen M-P, Hanaoka W, Clapham P. Movements of satellite-monitored humpback whales from new caledonia. J Mammal 91:109–115 (2010). |
Humpback whales Southwest Pacific - Australia 47 Australian Antarctic Division Viriginia Andrews-Goff Andrews-Goff, V., Bestley, S., Gales, N.J., Laverick, S.M., Paton, D., Polanowski, A.M., Schmitt, N.T. and Double, M.C. Humpback whale migrations to Antarctic summer foraging grounds through the southwest Pacific Ocean. Scientific reports, 8(1), p.12333 (2018). |
Humpback whales Southwest Pacific - Kermadecs 19 University of Auckland - Waipapa Taumata Rau Rochelle Constantine [email protected] Riekkola, L., Andrews-Goff, V., Friedlaender, A., Constantine, R. and Zerbini, A.N. Environmental drivers of humpback whale foraging behavior in the remote Southern Ocean. Journal of experimental marine biology and ecology, 517, pp.1-12 (2019). Riekkola, L., Andrews‐Goff, V., Friedlaender, A., Zerbini, A.N. and Constantine, R. Longer migration not necessarily the costliest strategy for migrating humpback whales. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 30(5), pp.937-948 (2020). |
Zerbini, A. N., A. Andriolo, M. P. Heide-Jørgensen, J. L. Pizzorno, Y. G. Maia, G. R. Vanblaricom, D. P. Demaster, P. C. Simões-Lopes, S. Moreira and C. Bethlem. Satellite-monitored movements of humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae in the Southwest Atlantic Ocean. Marine Ecology Progress Series 313:295-304.(2006). Bedriñana-Romano, L., A. N. Zerbini, A. Andriolo, D. Danilewicz and F. Sucunza. Individual and joint estimation of humpback whale migratory patterns and their environmental drivers in the Southwest Atlantic Ocean. Scientific Reports 12:7487 (2022). Other acknowledgements: Shell Brasil and CGG (Viridien) |
Humpback whales Southeast Atlantic - South Africa 23 Department of Forestry Fisheries and the Environment South Africa Mduduzi Seakamela Seakamela, S.M., Findlay, K., Meyer, M., Kirkman, S., Venter, K., Mdokwana, B. and Kotze, D. Report of the 2014 cetacean distribution and abundance survey off South Africa’s west coast. Report SC/66a/SH30 (2015). |
Humpback whales Southeast Atlantic - Gabon 15 Wildlife Conservation Society Rosenbaum, H. C., Maxwell, S. M., Kershaw, F. & Mate, B. Long-Range Movement of Humpback Whales and Their Overlap with Anthropogenic Activity in the South Atlantic Ocean. Conserv. Biol. 28, 604–615 (2014). |
Humpback whales Southern Ocean - Antarctic Peninsula 57 University of California Santa Cruz Ari Friedlaender Curtice, C., Johnston, D.W., Ducklow, H., Gales, N., Halpin, P.N. and Friedlaender, A.S. Modeling the spatial and temporal dynamics of foraging movements of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in the Western Antarctic Peninsula. Movement ecology, 3(1), p.13 (2015). Weinstein, B.G., Double, M., Gales, N., Johnston, D.W. and Friedlaender, A.S. Identifying overlap between humpback whale foraging grounds and the Antarctic krill fishery. Biological Conservation, 210, pp.184-191 (2017). Weinstein, B.G. and Friedlaender, A.S. Dynamic foraging of a top predator in a seasonal polar marine environment. Oecologia, 185(3), pp.427-435 (2017). |
Humpback whales Southern Ocean - Antarctic Peninsula 9 Federal University of Rio Grande Luciano Dalla Rosa Dalla Rosa, L., Secchi, E.R., Maia, Y.G., Zerbini, A.N. and Heide-Jørgensen, M.P. Movements of satellite-monitored humpback whales on their feeding ground along the Antarctic Peninsula. Polar Biology, 31(7), pp.771-781 (2008). |
Humpback whales Southern Ocean - Antarctic Peninsula 1 Oregon State University Daniel Palacios Unpublished |
Humpback whales Southern Ocean - East Antarctica 5 Center for Whale Research Owen, K., Jenner, K.C.S., Jenner, M.N.M., McCauley, R.D. and Andrews, R.D. Water temperature correlates with baleen whale foraging behaviour at multiple scales in the Antarctic. Marine and Freshwater Research, 70(1), pp.19-32 (2018). |
Humpback whales Southwest Indian Ocean - Madagascar 20 African Aquatic Conservation Fund, Neurosciences Paris Saclay, MIRACETI, Wildlife Conservation Society Sal Cerchio, Lauren Trudelle and collaborators Cerchio, S., Trudelle, L., Zerbini, A. N., Charrassin, J. B., Geyer, Y., Mayer, F. X., Andrianarivelo, N., Jung, J. L., Adam, O. & Rosenbaum, H. C. Satellite telemetry of humpback whales off Madagascar reveals insights on breeding behavior and longrange movements within the southwest Indian Ocean. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 562, 193–209 (2016). |
Humpback whales North Indian Ocean 14 Future Seas Global Environment Society of Oman Andrew Willson Willson, A.J., Baldwin, R., Childerhouse, S., Cerchio, S., Collins, T., Genov, T., Geyer, Y., Gray, H., Godley, B.J., Al Harthi, S. and Jabri, A.A. No place like home: assessing the multidimensional habitat use of endangered Arabian Sea humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae, Borowski 1781) with satellite telemetry. Frontiers in Marine Science, 13, p.1719547 (2026). |
Dulau, V., Pinet, P., Geyer, Y., Fayan, J., Mongin, P., Cottarel, G., Zerbini, A. & Cerchio, S. Continuous movement behavior of humpback whales during the breeding season in the southwest Indian Ocean: on the road again! Mov Ecol 5, 11 (2017). |
Humpback whales Southwest Indian Ocean - Comoros 12 MEGAPTERA Department of Biodiversity Greenland Institute of Natural Resources Fossette, S., Heide-Jørgensen, M.-P., Jensen, M. V., Kiszka, J., Bérubé, M., Bertrand, N. & Vély, M. Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) post breeding dispersal and southward migration in the western Indian Ocean. J. Exp. Mar. Bio. Ecol. 450, 6–14 (2014). |
Humpback whales Southwest Indian Ocean - Tanzania 5 Wildlife Conservation Society Tim Collins, Amy Kennedy Unpublished |
Humpback whales Southeast Indian Ocean - Australia 55 Australian Antarctic Division Virginia Andrews-Goff Bestley, S., Andrews-Goff, V., van Wijk, E., Rintoul, S.R., Double, M.C. and How, J. New insights into prime Southern Ocean forage grounds for thriving Western Australian humpback whales. Scientific Reports, 9(1), p.13988 (2019). |
Humpback whales North Atlantic - Newfoundland 33 Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada Steve Ferguson Unpublished |
Humpback whales Northwest Atlantic - Gulf of Maine 69 Center for Coastal Studies Jooke Robbins Zerbini, A., Robbins, J., Andrews, R., Andrews-Goff, V., Baumgartner, M., Clapham, P., Double, M., Gales, N., Gulland, F., Hammar, T., Holland, M., Kennedy, A., Landry, S., Leask, A., Mattila, D. K., Sandilands, D. and Schorr, G. Developing robust large whale satellite tags through follow-up studies. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management. Special issue 5: 91-126 (2025). Kennedy, A., Robbins, J., Andrews-Goff, V., Clapham, P., Double, M., Gale, N., Gulland, F., Holland, M. and Zerbini, A. Remote assessment of ‘Type C’ implantable satellite tag extrusion rate using light sensors. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management. Special Issue 5: 35-44 (2024). Gulland, F. M. D., Robbins, J., Zerbini, A. N., Andrews-Goff, V., M., B., Clapham, P. J., Double, M., Gales, N., Kennedy, A. S., Landry, S., Mattila, D. K., Sandilands, D., Tackaberry, J., Uhart, M. and Vanstreels, R. E. T. Effects of satellite-linked telemetry tags on humpback whales in the Gulf of Maine: photographic assessment of tag sites. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management. Special Issue 5: 1-33 (2024). Hückstädt, L. A., Schwarz, L. K., Friedlaender, A. S., Mate, B. R., Zerbini, A. N., Kennedy, A., Robbins, J., Gales, N. J. and Costa, D. P. A dynamic approach to estimate the probability of exposure of marine predators to oil exploration seismic surveys over continental shelf waters. Endangered Species Research 42: 185-199 (2020). |
Humpback whales Northwest Atlantic - Caribbean 21 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Marine Ecology and Telemetry Research Amy Kennedy Kennedy, A.S., Zerbini, A.N., Vásquez, O.V., Gandilhon, N., Clapham, P.J. and Adam, O. Local and migratory movements of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) satellite-tracked in the North Atlantic Ocean. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 92(1), pp.9-18 (2014). |
Humpback whales Northeast Atlantic - Norway 1 Norwegian Polar Institute Marie-Anne Blanchet Kettemer, L.E., Rikardsen, A.H., Biuw, M., Broms, F., Mul, E. and Blanchet, M.A. Round-trip migration and energy budget of a breeding female humpback whale in the Northeast Atlantic. PLoS One, 17(5), p.e0268355 (2022). |
Narwhals Arctic Ocean - Canada 25 Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada Hornby, C.A., Togunov, R.R., McClintock, B.T. and Watt, C.A. Behavioural analysis of multi-year satellite telemetry data provides insight into narwhal (Monodon monoceros) winter prey selection in Baffin Bay. Plos one, 20(9), p.e0330928 (2025). |
North Pacific Right Whale Northeast Pacific - Alaska 4 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Alex Zerbini Zerbini, A.N., Baumgartner, M.F., Kennedy, A.S., Rone, B.K., Wade, P.R. and Clapham, P.J. Space use patterns of the endangered North Pacific right whale Eubalaena japonica in the Bering Sea. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 532, pp.269-281 (2015). |
Northern bottlenose whales Northwest Atlantic - Canada 73 Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada Steve Ferguson Unpublished |
Orca South Indian Ocean - Prince Edward Islands 9 University of Pretoria Ryan Reisinger Reisinger, R.R., Keith, M., Andrews, R.D. and De Bruyn, P.J.N. Movement and diving of killer whales (Orcinus orca) at a Southern Ocean archipelago. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 473, pp.90-102 (2015). |
Orca Southern Ocean - Ross Sea 10 Institute for Environmental Protection and Research Giancarlo Lauriano Lauriano, G., Pirotta, E., Joyce, T., Pitman, R.L., Borrell, A. and Panigada, S. Movements, diving behaviour and diet of type‐C killer whales (Orcinus orca) in the Ross Sea, Antarctica. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 30(12), pp.2428-2440 (2020). |
Pygmy blue whales Indonesia - Western Australia - Victoria 36 Australian Antarctic Division Viriginia Andrews-Goff [email protected] Andrews-Goff, V., Double, M., Moller, L., Attard, C., Bilgmann, K., Jonsen, I. and Paton, D. Switching state space model for pygmy blue whale satellite tag derived locations, Ver. 1. Australian Antarctic Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.26179/5e671120e52b4 (2020). |
Southern right whales South Africa & Southern Ocean 18 Oregon State University, University of Pretoria Mate, B. R., Best, P. B., Lagerquist, B. A. & Winsor, M. H. Coastal, offshore, and migratory movements of South African right whales revealed by satellite telemetry. Mar. Mamm. Sci. 27, 455–476 (2011). |
Southern right whales Southern Ocean and New Zealand to Australia 6 Australia Antarctic Division Virginia Andrews-Goff Andrews-Goff, V., Double, M., Mckay, A., & Bailleul, F. Argos location data for southern right whales satellite tagged off New Zealand and South Australia, Ver. 1. Australian Antarctic Data Centre. (2021). https://doi.org/10.26179/5d37c13fe2ff4 |
Southern right whales Southwest Atlantic - Argentina 34 Marine Ecology and Telemetry Research, University of Washington, NOAA, Wildlife Conservation Society Alex Zerbini and partners [email protected] Zerbini, A.N., Rosenbaum, H., Mendez, M., Sucunza, F., Andriolo, A., Harris, G., Clapham, P.J., Sironi, M., Uhart, M. and Aj , A. Tracking southern right whales through the Southwest Atlantic: an update on movements, migratory routes and feeding grounds. Paper SC/66b/BRG26 presented to the IWC Scientific Committee, Bled, Slovenia, 7-19 June 2016. 16pp. (2016). Additional acknowledgement to: Office of Naval Research, National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Instituto Aqualie. |
Southern right whales Southern Ocean and New Zealand 25 University of Auckland - Waipapa Taumata Rau Emma Carroll and Leena Riekkola Riekkola, L., Sprogis, K.R., Della Penna, A., Andrews-Goff, V., Harcourt, R., Cole, R., Constantine, R., Goetz, K.T., Lundquist, D., Stuck, E. and Zerbini, A.N. Large-scale differences, mesoscale similarities: Neighbouring marine predator populations provide insights into Southern Ocean productivity. Global Ecology and Conservation, p.e03788 (2025). |
Southern right whales Southern Ocean and Australia 4 University of Western Australia Kate Sprogis [email protected] Riekkola, L., Sprogis, K.R., Della Penna, A., Andrews-Goff, V., Harcourt, R., Cole, R., Constantine, R., Goetz, K.T., Lundquist, D., Stuck, E. and Zerbini, A.N. Large-scale differences, mesoscale similarities: Neighbouring marine predator populations provide insights into Southern Ocean productivity. Global Ecology and Conservation, p.e03788 (2025). |
Southern right whales Southern Ocean and Australia 2 British Antarctic Survey Jen Jackson [email protected] Kennedy, A.S., Carroll, E.L., Zerbini, A.N., Baker, C.S., Bassoi, M., Beretta, N.A., Buss, D.L., Calderan, S., Cheeseman, T., Collins, M.A. and Costa‐Urrutia, P. Photo‐identification and satellite telemetry connect southern right whales from South Georgia Island (Islas Georgias del Sur) with multiple feeding and calving grounds in the southwest Atlantic. Marine Mammal Science, 40(2), p.e13089 (2024). |
Irvine, L. M., Winsor, M. H., Follett, T. M., Mate, B. R. & Palacios, D. M. An at-sea assessment of Argos location accuracy for three species of large whales, and the effect of deep-diving behavior on location error. Animal Biotelemetry 8, 20 (2020). Mate, B. R., Irvine, L. M., & Palacios, D. M. The development of an intermediate‐duration tag to characterize the diving behavior of large whales. Ecology and evolution, 7(2), 585-595 (2017). |
Sperm whales Baffin Bay 3 Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada Unpublished |
Sperm whales Northwest Atlantic - Canada 34 Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada Steve Ferguson [email protected] Lefort, K.J., Hussey, N.E., Jones, J.M., Johnson, K.F. and Ferguson, S.H. Satellite-tracked sperm whale migrates from the Canadian Arctic to the subtropical western North Atlantic. Marine Mammal Science, 38(3), p.1242 (2022). |
Irvine, L., Palacios, D.M., Urbán, J. and Mate, B. Sperm whale dive behavior characteristics derived from intermediate‐duration archival tag data. Ecology and evolution, 7(19), pp.7822-7837 (2017). |
Unpublished |
Sperm whales Northeast Atlantic - Norway 26 Norwegian Polar Institute Marie-Anne Blanchet [email protected] Lydersen, C., Blanchet, M.A., Kovacs, K.M., Similä, T., Freitas, C., Morange, Z., Pedersen, O.M., Vogel, E.F., Bril, M., Christensen, G. and Rikardsen, A.H. Migration to breeding areas by male sperm whales Physeter macrocephalus from the Northeast Atlantic Arctic. Scientific Reports, 15(1), p.7861 (2025). |
Sperm whales Southwest Indian Ocean - Mauritius 22 MEGAPTERA, Department of Biodiversity, Greenland Institute of Natural Resources Chambault P, Fossette S, Heide‐Jørgensen MP, Jouannet D, Vély M. Predicting seasonal movements and distribution of the sperm whale using machine learning algorithms. Ecology and evolution, 11(3), 1432-45 (2021). |
Additional Whale Movement02
Some whale corridors, or migration areas, are visualised based on peer-review literature and other sources.
Species Region Citation / source |
Bowhead Whales Eastern Canada / West Greenland Ferguson, S. H., Dueck, L., Loseto, L. L. & Luque, S. P. Bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus) seasonal selection of sea ice. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 411, 285–297 (2010). |
Bowhead whales Bering / Chukchi / Beaufort Seas Smith, M. A., Goldman, M. S., Knight, E. J. & Warrenchuk, J. J. Ecological Atlas of the Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort Seas: Melanie A. Smith, Max S. Goldman, Erika J. Knight, and Jon J. Warrenchuk. (Audubon Alaska, 2017). |
Humpback whales Global Fleming, A. & Jackson, J. Global review of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae). NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE (2011). at https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/4489/noaa_4489_DS1.pdf |
MARINE AND ENVIRONMENTAL DATA.03
Data layers displayed in maps and infographics
Data layers displayed in maps and infographics Source |
Marine Protected Areas UNEP-WCMC and IUCN. Protected Planet: The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) and World Database on Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (WD-OECM) [Online], November 2021, Cambridge, UK: UNEP-WCMC and IUCN (2021). Available at: www.protectedplanet.net. |
IUCN Important Marine Mammal Areas (IMMAs) IUCN Marine Mammal Protected Areas Task Force. Global Dataset of Important Marine Mammal Areas (IUCN-IMMA). February 2022. Made available under agreement on terms of use by the IUCN Joint SSC/ WCPA Marine Mammal Protected Areas Task Force (2022). Available at www.marinemammalhabitat.org/imma-eatlas |
Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) BirdLife International. World Database of Key Biodiversity Areas. Developed by the KBA Partnership: BirdLife International, International Union for the Conservation of Nature, American Bird Conservancy, Amphibian Survival Alliance, Conservation International, Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund, Global Environment Facility, Re:wild, NatureServe, Rainforest Trust, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Wildlife Conservation Society and World Wildlife Fund. September 2021 version (2021). Available at http://keybiodiversityareas.org/kba-data/request |
CBD: Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas (EBSAs) Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity. (n.d.). Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas (EBSAs). Retrieved from https://www.cbd.int/marine/EBSAs.shtml |
Country Borders, Land and Sea Areas Available at https://www.naturalearthdata.com/ |
Country EEZs Flanders Marine Institute. Maritime Boundaries Geodatabase: Maritime Boundaries and Exclusive Economic Zones (200NM), version 11 (2019). Downloaded from https://www.marineregions.org/. Last accessed 10 February 2021. https://doi.org/10.14284/386. |
FAO Major Fishing Areas FAO. (Date). FAO Major Fishing Areas. In: Fisheries and Aquaculture Division [online]. Rome. [Cited <Date>] [e.g., FAO. (2025). FAO Major Fishing Areas. In: Fisheries and Aquaculture Division [online]. Rome. [Cited May 28, 2025]] |
Climate change data GISTEMP Team, 2025: GISS Surface Temperature Analysis (GISTEMP), version 4. NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies. Dataset accessed 2025-05-01 at https://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/. |
Bycatch data Avila IC, Kaschner K, Dormann CF (2018) Current global risks to marine mammals: Taking stock of the threats. Biological Conservation 221:44–58. |
Global fishing effort Global Fishing Watch. 2025. Global Apparent Fishing Effort Dataset, Version 3.0. doi:10.5281/zenodo.14982712 |
Global ship traffic data ExactEarth Vessel Traffic Density Layers, (2015). https://www.exactearth.com/product-exactais-densitymaps |
Chemical pollution data Frazier M (2019). Recent pace of change in human impact on the world's ocean: Organic chemical pollution. Knowledge Network for Biocomplexity. doi:10.5063/F12805ZF. |
Plastic pollution data Clark, B.L., Carneiro, A.P.B., Pearmain, E.J. et al. Global assessment of marine plastic exposure risk for oceanic birds. Nat Commun 14, 3665 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-38900-z |
Underwater noise data Jalkanen J-P, Johansson L, Andersson MH, Majamäki E, Sigray P (2022) Underwater noise emissions from ships during 2014–2020. Environmental Pollution 311:119766. |
Offshore construction, oil & gas Omara, Mark, Ritesh Gautam, Madeleine O'Brien, Anthony Himmelberger, Alex Franco, Kelsey Meisenhelder, Grace Hauser et al. "Developing a spatially explicit global oil and gas infrastructure database for characterizing methane emission sources at high resolution." Earth System Science Data Discussions 2023 (2023): 1-35. |
All threats Avila IC, Kaschner K, Dormann CF (2018) Current global risks to marine mammals: Taking stock of the threats. Biological Conservation 221:44–58. |