Hungry Humpbacks

Hungry humpbacks: measuring seasonal foraging intensity at South Georgia

Start date
1 April, 2023
End date
30 September, 2025

Whales are the largest krill predators in the UK Overseas territory of South Georgia, yet their impacts on krill stocks are poorly understood. Recently, whale surveys revealed high summer abundance and extended use of South Georgia waters into winter, coincident with the winter krill fishery. This project measures how humpback whale foraging intensity varies across the feeding season in South Georgia, using UAV-based (drone) measurements of body condition and satellite-tracking of whale diving rates to measure season-specific krill consumption, and inform krill quota-setting for the Subarea 48.3 CCAMLR krill risk assessment.

The UAV pilots will collect calibrated UAV aerial images from humpback whales near Cumberland Bay, South Georgia. Small-boat surveys will also be conducted near Cumberland Bay, collecting whale sightings, photo-identifications and biopsy samples. Humpback whales will be instrumented with depth-recording satellite tags, to identify spatial habitat-use and how foraging depth and intensity varies across the feeding season.

This project will provide seasonal krill consumption estimates for humpbacks and generate satellite tracking-based winter habitat use models to describe whale distribution. Both datasets will be integrated into the CCAMLR Area 48.3 krill risk assessment and will provide baseline measurements of krill consumption in SG waters by whales across seasons.

Funding: Darwin Plus, South Georgia Heritage Trust and Friends of South Georgia Island. Logistical support from the Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.

A man standing next to a body of water

Stephanie Martin

Coordinator -South Georgia Humpback Project

A person wearing a helmet.

Jennifer Jackson

Molecular Ecologist/Whale biologist

Ecosystems team

A person wearing sunglasses and a hat with snow on the ground

Henry Slesser

PhD Student

A woman smiling for the camera

Penny Clarke

PhD Student Pelagic Ecosystems

Ecosystems team


King Edward Point Research Station

King Edward Point is primarily a marine and  fisheries research station.   Owned by the Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (GSGSSI) and operated by British Antarctic Survey …