Biblioteca

The humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) of the Southern Hemisphere migrate long distances from their feeding grounds in Antarctic waters to the tropics (Matthews, 1937). At theend of the feeding season, each population (i.e., stock) migrates latitudinally towards the Equator to its own coastal or insular breeding ground in tropical or near-tropical waters. Seven humpback whale breeding stocks (A to G) and six management feeding areas (Areas I to VI) are recognized by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) (1998). Two breeding populations migrate along South America: Breeding Stock A is found in the coastal waters of Brazil, and Breeding Stock G is found on the west coast of South America from northern Peru to south Nicaragua (Pacheco et al., 2009; IWC, 2011; De Weerdt et al., 2020).