Marine Mammal Research on the Saba Bank

The Saba Bank was equipped with two acoustic noise loggers in 2015 and 2016 to support marine mammal research on Saba Bank.

Humpback whales don’t just sing songs- they compose with the whales around them, singing a song that evolves over time. Scientists didn’t know this until they started recording whale sounds in the 1960s and spent years listening to the beautiful and powerful melodies.

The Saba Bank Management Unit is working with Dick de Haan from the Institute for Marine Resources and Ecosystem Studies (IMARES) and the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs. The research is faclilitated by the Saba Bank Management Unit and Saba Conservation Foundation. The acoustic hydrophones record songs on the Saba Bank, in hopes that they can understand more about the whales’ populations. The hydrophones were retrieved at the end of August 2016 and all are eager for the results of the research.

Saba Conservation Foundation.