Minke Whale Photo-Identification Project

Since 1990 The Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust has co-ordinated a photo- identification study of minke whales in the inshore waters of the Hebrides. The regular sightings of minke whales in this area provide an excellent opportunity for the behavioural and ecological study of this species.

The photographic data is collected by Brennen Fairbairns of Sea Life Surveys, a Local whale-watching business which conducts research and whale-watching trips, and by HWDT staff on board our research and education vessel “Silurian”. Click here to find out more about “Silurian”.

Covering waters between the Isle of Mull, the Scottish mainland (Ardnamurchan Point), the Islands of Coll, Tiree, Eigg, Muck, Rum and the Treshnish Isles, sightings data such as date, time, location and environmental conditions are also recorded on the boats, to go with photographs taken of the animals encountered.

The analysis of the data is carried out by The Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust and a catalogue of the local minke whales has been developed. Seventy-five individual minke whales have been identified and catalogued so far! The recognised animals are catalogued according to: Distinctive Fins, Fin Marks, Small Marks on Fin and Body Scars.

To see some minke whales from the catalogue please click below:

We know that Minke whales migrate to warmer waters in the winter to breed and return to the Hebridean waters each summer to feed, but information on movement between areas is badly needed. The development of the minke whale catalogue has allowed us to determine that individual whales return to this area year after year. Thirty-two of the whales have been re-sighted, twenty-four of which have been re-sighted over different years. The greatest number of re-sightings for any one individual is for “Nick2” who has been seen here twenty-five times over a period of ten years! Another interesting result of the project is that it has shown some of the whales to be summer residents, being re-sighted in the area throughout the season.

The results of this project provide us with the foundation for future studies such as investigating the use of an area by individual whales and individual feeding behaviour. The establishment of the catalogue means that this information can be distributed to other organisations which have photographs of minke whales. This could help to determine the range of these whales throughout the Hebrides. With the help of “Europhlukes”, an organisation which collects Photo-ID data from Cetacean-recording groups all across Europe, we may even be able to follow individuals on their migration routes when they leave the local area at the end of the season…

How can you support this project?

To ensure the continuation of this exciting project, you can help in various ways by:

Minke whale images from Photo-ID catalogue:

Distinctive Fin – Face:

Fin Marks - Snowy:

Small Marks on Fin - Snip:

Body Scars – Boxer:

This project is conducted in collaboration with Sea Life Surveys who collect the data and fund some of the costs. Further costs are provided by The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW). The camera lens was donated by the Royal Bank of Scotland. Computers are donated by Aberdeen Computer Services.  Analyses of the Minke Whale Catalogue were carried out by Alison Gill.