Here in Fiji we have a trained response team that you can call should you happen upon a whale stranding while cruising our waters.

Please call 918 7614 or 336 1122 and be prepared with as much information as you can gather such as your exact location, how many whales, their species (click here for identification guide), and any injury you can see the animal has sustained.

We hope that you get to sail alongside some of our magnificent cetaceans during your visit, please click here for the best and safest (for you and the cetacean) way to navigate and enjoy your interaction.

Tabua

The teeth of stranded individuals are removed from the lower jaw (as they only have teeth in their lower  jaw) cleaned, polished and threaded onto a fibre necklace. They are not really worn (although apparently were by high ranking chiefs once upon a time), but presented as a symbol of great respect at special occasions such as weddings, funerals and births.

Photo: wdc.org

Tabua also appear in the first stage of a marriage ritual when requesting the hand of a maiden; a tabua is presented to the girls father, and if accepted, the couple are betrothed. When approaching a landowner for a piece of land upon which to build a house, or to plant crops, a tabua will usually be presented. A tabua is also used to emphasizes an apology. The size of a tabua determines its value, the larger the tooth, the more weight it carries.

Tabua as Souvenirs?

Because of their importance in Fiji’s culture and their rarity (sperm whales are listed on CITES Appendix I, CMS Appendix I & II, and the IUCN Red List as Vulnerable), you would need to obtain written permission from both the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry iTaukei Affairs and the Department of Environment to export a Tabua. An import permit for the country(ies) that it would be taken to would also be necessary.

All in all – a bit of a headache, so if you are not Fijian, it’s probably best to leave them here. You can find authentic looking carved wooden examples in the Handicraft Markets that make an excellent substitute – and lets face it, who back home would ever know the difference!

Humpback whales are seen migrating through our waters, as they travel to Tonga to breed and calve after feeding in Antarctica. There are large groups of pilot whales that inhabit our waters, and false killer whales that seem to come through annually singing loudly as they do!

Of course we also have the odd individual that you may encounter, minkes and sperm whales being the most common.

L. Molleson/WDC images | Learn more about cetaceans here 

Cetaceans may be disturbed by the presence of people, vessels or aircraft. In order to ensure the conservation of these magnificent animals in our region, it is our responsibility to minimize the disturbance caused by our presence.

Towards that goal, the collaborative efforts of SPREP, Cetacea, IFAW, and FFEM have produced some regional best practice guidelines.

Regional best practice guidelines

Whale and dolphin watching activities can potentially cause long-term disturbance to cetacean populations, which include:

• Disruption of behavior (e.g. feeding, nursing, mating, migrating);
• Displacement from important habitat areas (e.g. resting, feeding, breeding and calving areas);
• Long term stress;
• Injury;
• Reduced breeding success;
• Increased mortality.

Changes in the behavior of whales and dolphins need to be recognized and acknowledged as such, so that animals can be left undisturbed. The following behaviors may indicate that a whale or dolphin is affected by our presence:

• Changes in swimming speed or direction (to avoid boat);
• Changes in breathing / diving patters;
• Stopping or changing activity patterns (e.g. vocalizing, feeding, nursing, socializing);
• Changes in group size and cohesion; changes in acoustic behavior and surface behaviors such as peduncle tail throws and trumpet blows.
  

  NEVER get between a mother and her calf.

Populations, and individual cetaceans may react differently depending on the species, their age, sex, and if accompanied by a calf. Do not encircle animals and always leave them an ‘escape’ route.

Persons shall always:

• Operate vessels so as not to disrupt the normal movement or behavior of whales and dolphins; 
• Stop any interactions with a cetacean at any sign of the animal becoming disturbed or alarmed;
• Allow cetaceans to determine the nature and duration of interactions.
  

  Caution zone: The caution zone is the area within 100m – 300m from a whale and 50m – 300m from a dolphin. Source: Pacific Islands regional guidelines for whale and dolphin watching. September 2008.
  SPREP Cetacea, IFAW, and FFEM.

Therefore, the following recommendations need to be considered:

• Do not touch a cetacean;
• Do not feed a cetacean;
• Do not make any loud or sudden noises;
• Do not make sudden or repeated changes in direction or speed;
• Dedicated observers should be on duty in addition to the captain of the vessel;
• Do not place a vessel up wind of, or in a position where it will drift into, the no-approach zone (see diagram).

When vessels are within the caution zone of whales or dolphins:

• Approach cetaceans slowly and cautiously;
• Observe cetaceans at a speed not exceeding the speed of the animals;
• No more than 3 vessels should be in the caution zone of a whale or dolphin at a time. Coordinate approaches into the viewing zone with other vessels to avoid “trapping” whales or dolphins;
• Leave boat engine on and in idle when watching cetaceans;
• Do not disperse or separate a group of cetaceans;
• A vessel should not chase, encircle, block the direction of travel of cetaceans, or position itself in the middle of a pod;
• If cetaceans approach a vessel, slow down gradually and put engines in idle;
• If cetaceans approach a vessel to bow-ride, maintain a slow and steady speed and avoid sudden changes in course;
• When departing from watching cetaceans, determine where the animals are relative to the vessel to avoid collisions or coming too close to the animals, and increase speed gradually while exiting the caution zone.

The most appropriate method for approaching a whale or a dolphin is from the side and slightly to the rear of the animal. Avoid approaches from head on or directly from behind.

Report Whale and Dolphin Sightings

There are sightings of humpack whales being reported from all over Fiji! Some females set up camp in a nice shallow, sheltered bay to calf while many others are just pausing to say “Hello” en route to Tonga to do the same. Sightings have been recorded in locations such as Lau, Beqa, Namena, Savusavu, Koro and Macuata.

This is where YOU can help us determine a clearer picture of numbers, and migratory patterns of our whales!

Whale Encounters Form (pdf 1.8MB)

If you encounter a humpback whale (or any other species of whale for that matter) you can record the information about the sighting on the form(pdf here), tear it out and post it off to the provided address from the next post office you visit.

Dr Miller and her colleagues at the Department of Fisheries will add your data into the national database and compile the findings that will help our government conserve and better protect whales and dolphins in Fiji.

Mother and Calf

In addition to humpback whales, all cetacean sightings during these surveys are documented to increase the understanding of cetacean biodiversity in Fijian waters. The team is also looking at fluke-identification, and song and genetic analysis to describe and differentiate humpback whales coming to Fiji from the larger Oceania subpopulation.

For the past three years, Dr Miller and her dedicated team have set up camp in Levuka, Ovalau to record both sightings and the song of migrating humpbacks.

Ironically, Levuka was founded in 1830 as a whaling station for the hunters of sperm and humpback whales. During the 1850s it was one of the Pacific’s main whaling bases, particularly for North Americans boats, but by the 1880s whalers had moved further south as the populations were decimated and steam driven whalers managed to brake through the ice of Antarctica to find more concentrated groups to hunt.

Whaling was big business in Fiji, with stations all over the country including the islands of Kadavu and Koro.

Whale & dolphin monitoring aboard the Uto Ni Yalo – Fiji

While whaling at such a level has not occurred for many years in our waters, our government declared Fiji’s Exclusive Economic Zone as a Whale Sanctuary on 11th March 2003.

Despite this declaration, Dr Miller reports that “Unfortunately numbers are very low and at this stage this Endangered species does not show much sign of recovery”.

However, all is not lost! There are sightings of humpack whales being reported from all over Fiji! Some females set up camp in a nice shallow, sheltered bay to calf while many others are just pausing to say “Hello” en route to Tonga to do the same. Sightings have been recorded in locations such as Lau, Beqa, Namena, Savusavu, Koro and Macuata.

This is where YOU can help us determine a clearer picture of numbers, and migratory patterns of our whales!

Whale Encounters Form (pdf 1.8MB)

If you encounter a humpback whale (or any other species of whale for that matter) you can record the information about your interaction on the sighting form (pdf here), tear it out and post it off to the provided address from the next post office you visit.

Dr Miller and her colleagues at the Department of Fisheries will add your data into the national database and compile the findings that will help our government conserve and better protect whales and dolphins in Fiji.

Dr Cara Miller, WDC

Dr Cara Miller is the Pacific Islands Programme Leader for the international organization – Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC) and is also a Research Fellow at the University of the South Pacific (USP), here in Suva.Cara lives in Suva with her fiancé Vili, and mini Vili – baby Tavita. Tavita is Cara’s research assistant and an avid cetacean conservationist. His favorite place to hang out is Nataleira village, watching his mum study the resident spinner dolphins, from the beautiful shoreline.

Dr Miller works with numerous post-graduate students at the University to conduct cetacean field studies on topics such as population viability analysis of spinner dolphins at Moon Reef, reviews of the cultural significance of the tabua (sperm whale teeth), humpback whale behaviors assessments, and spinner dolphin acoustic analyses.

When not busy conducting research out in the field, she can be found giving lectures in various classes at USP, such as Conservation Biology, Marine Biology, Fisheries dynamics, and Ecotourism and regularly represents the university at various international meetings.

Last October I got a call from the Chief of Totoya Island (Roko Sau) letting me know that a whale had gotten stuck inside a lagoon near his island.

I’d never been to the Lau Islands before yet had always heard lovely things about the clear waters and teeming marine life of this remote island group. Roko Sau (who also works for the Pacific Blue Foundation) was enthusiastic and managed to charm us a ride on a Super yacht thanks also to the support of Yacht Help Fiji.

Dr Cara Miller, WDC

After a 15 hour ride I set my eyes on the stunning sight of beautiful and majestic Totoya. As we moved into the interior of the horse-shoe shaped island I scanned intently for any sign of the whale. Finally there was a blow but my heart sank as I realized that the whale was stuck inside a very small and shallow lagoon.

We jumped into a skiff with the Super yacht crew and moved through the narrow S-shaped channel into the lagoon.

I then saw the animal up close for the first time and confirmed it was a male, subadult humpback whale. He was in good condition … except of course for his current location within Vakamatuku lagoon. The lagoon had a maximum depth of around 16m and was just over 50m in diameter.

The channel he had to exit through was only 6m deep, 10m wide and about 10m long. I watched him as he unknowingly swam past the small entrance.

I felt anxious about his fate as it was the time of year when humpback whales should be beginning their southward migration to Antarctica in order to feed. Any energy he spent swimming around this lagoon would take away from the reserves needed for the 6-8 week swim south.

See Cara’s full article here: The Prince of Totoya is (finally) on his way south, Thursday, February 7. 2013