Current status of Southern Right Whale Eubalaena australis in San Matías Gulf (northern Patagonia) and results of experimental whale watching activities

ARIAS, MAGDALENA; ROMERO, MARÍA ALEJANDRA; SVENDSEN, GUILLERMO; CURCIO, NADIA; JARMA, DAYANA; COSCARELLA, MARIANO; DANS, SILVANA; CRESPO, ENRIQUE; GONZÁLEZ, RAÚL

San Diego

Workshop; 2015 Meeting of the IWC Scientific Committee; 2015

IWC

Presence of whales in San Antonio Bay (San Matías Gulf -SMG-, northern Patagonia) has become so common in the last decade that an experimental program of whale-watching tourism has been started in 2012.  The objective of this paper is to present information on the current status of Southern Right Whale in SMG regarding the distribution, abundance and social structure, as well as a characterization of the emerging activity of whale-watching tourism. Results are compared with data gathered in previous (2007-2008) studies and discussed and integrated with historical data for SMG and available information for Peninsula Valdes área.