VICTORIA, British Columbia, Sept. 12 (UPI) -- Humpback whale populations are thriving in the coastal fjords of British Columbia, almost doubling in size between 2004 and 2011, biologists say.
Erin Ashe from the Sea Mammal Research Unit at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland and colleagues from other institutions, writing in the journal PLoS One, report estimating abundance of Pacific humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) using photo-identification surveillance of identifiable adults.
The number of humpback whales in the region increased each year, they said, and doubled from 2004 to 2011, reaching a total of 137 whales in 2011.
The abundance was estimated during the summer months of July to September when the migrating whale population is largest, they reported.
The survey focused on summer feeding regions in the coastal fjords that serve as a pit stop for whales to refuel between migrations that take them as far as Hawaii or Japan.
In British Columbia waters, survivorship -- the average probability of an adult whale surviving from one year to the next -- is among the highest reported anywhere for this species, the researchers said.
