North West Shoals to Shore: Pygmy Blue Whale Distribution and Migration, 2006-2021

22 satellite tag deployments from 2009 to 2021 and passive acoustic monitoring from 46 instruments between 2006 and 2019 track pygmy blue whale migration off Western Australia. The data, provided by the Australian Ocean Data Network, quantifies distribution, foraging areas, and movement behavior. It shows whales spent up to 124 days in Indonesian waters and identifies high-use areas for migration and foraging.

Use Cases

• Modeling pygmy blue whale migration routes based on satellite telemetry and acoustic monitoring data.
• Identifying critical foraging habitats based on movement behavior analysis showing periods of low move persistence.
• Assessing spatial overlap between whale high-use areas and anthropogenic activities like oil and gas production.
• Comparing calculated biologically important areas with previously described areas to validate conservation zones.

Strengths

• Combines 22 satellite tag deployments over 12 years (2009-2021) with 46 passive acoustic instruments over 13 years (2006-2019).
• Quantifies specific foraging behavior durations, with a median of 28 hours and a range up to 1080 hours.
• Provides spatial data on high-use areas for migration and foraging derived from the top 50% of grid cells in analysis.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Last updated 2026-07-16 03:38:13.938796; freshness should be verified.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Passive acoustic monitoring and satellite telemetry data analyzed with state-space models.

Time Range

2006 to 2021

Freshness

Last updated 2026-07-16 03:38:13.938796

Geography

North-western Australian coast, South-east Indian Ocean, Indonesian waters