Dr. Mate continued his studies of whale behavior and migration using satellite monitored radio tags. Nine blue whales were tagged off the coast of California in the fall of 1998. Eleven humpback whales were tagged off Maui, Hawaii, during the winter of 1999. A lot of individual variation was apparent in whale movements, with some animals ranging widely around all islands and others staying in fairly localized areas. At the time of report preparation, two whales were migrating north of the islands en route to their summer feeding grounds.
Trajectories show both whales heading toward British Columbia.
Observers reported information concerning group size, numbers passing per hour, and distance from shore to compare with a similar study conducted from 1978-1981. Dr. Mate, research assistants Barbara Lagerquist and Sharon Nieukirk, and marine mammal artist Pieter Folkens designed and published a waterproof marine mammal stranding guide for enforcement agencies and the general public. In July-August 1999, Dr. Mate will tag blue whales off southern California and track them to fall feeding areas off the southwest Baja Mexico coast. He hopes to determine the residency time for whales in Hawaii, and whether animals arriving at different times of the year are from different feeding stocks. Waldo Wakefield Joins NMFS, Northwest Waldo Wakefield has lived and worked on both the Atlantic and the Pacific, as well as in the middle of the United States.