KILLER WHALE, Orcinus orca, SOUNDS REPEL WHITE WHALES, 



Delphiiiapterus leucas 



James F. Fish' and John S. Vania" 



ABSTRACT 



This study was conducted to determine if the migration of white whales up the Kvichak River, Bristol 

 Bay, Alasl<a, could be stopped by playing high-intensity underwater sounds to them. While in the 

 river the whales feed on salmon smolt migrating down to the sea. Transmission of killer whale sounds 

 was found to be an effective means for keeping the whales out of the river. During control periods 

 when sound was not projected, the whales moved freely in and out of the river. A permanent play- 

 back system could be installed with little difficulty and would result in a significant reduction in the 

 number of smolts consumed by belugas in the Kvichak River. 



White whales, or belugas, Delphinapteriis leu- 

 cas, commonly travel 20 to 30 km up Alaska's 

 Kvichak River (Figure 1) on the flood tide and 

 back down on the ebb, foraging on available food 



Figure 1. — Location of the study area. 



' Naval Undersea Research and Development Center, 

 San Diego, Calif. 92132. 



^ Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Anchorage, 

 Alaska 99502. 



organisms along the way. This twice-daily 

 movement of from 50 to over 500 whales occurs 

 during May and throughout most of June. It 

 ceases only after boat traffic from the seasonal 

 salmon fishery becomes heavy. 



The Kvichak River supports the most exten- 

 sive run of red salmon, Oncorhynchus nerka, in 

 the world. These runs range from 1 to 45 million 

 fish per year. Lake Iliamna, the largest lake in 

 Alaska, located about 80 km up the Kvichak, 

 is the principal rearing area for the young salm- 

 on before they migrate to the sea as 1- or 2-year 

 olds. The annual migration of smolt occurs dur- 

 ing the end of May and the first 2 weeks in June 

 with the peak of migration occurring about the 

 first of June. 



Field studies by the Alaska Department of 

 Fisheries (1956) in the early 1950's showed that 

 beluga predation on the salmon smolt occurred 

 when the young fish were migrating to sea and 

 appeared to be most extensive in the confines 

 of the river. As the smolt moved into Kvichak 

 Bay, they scattered and became less vulnerable 

 to predation. Attempts were made to keep the 

 belugas out of the river by chasing them with 

 motorboats and by dropping small charges of 

 explosives into the river. These methods were 

 not very successful and were difficult to use dur- 

 ing inclement weather or at night. 



From 1963 to 1968 Vania projected various 

 sounds, including killer whale sounds, noise, and 

 music, underwater to the belugas in an attempt 



Manuscript accepted March I97I. 



FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL. 69. NO. 3, 1971. 



531 



