2?0 DISCOVERY REPORTS 



The main principles of the movements of Fin whales from season to season in those 

 parts of the Antarctic seas where marking has taken place may be considered to be 

 amply demonstrated by the data already to hand and discussed above. The characteristic 

 movements are primarily a return to the same region and quite often to the same 

 locality frequented the previous season, and secondly, a dispersal movement from these 

 regions. This "dispersal" movement must, I think, be considered to affect fewer 

 whales than the "return" movement, and it varies in strength from whale to whale, 

 so that a false appearance of progressive movement is presented. Further, this dispersal 

 movement appears to be limited in scope, the extreme movement after four years is 

 little greater than the extreme movement after one year. This suggests the existence of 

 larger self-contained provinces between which exchanges occur but slowly and within 

 which whales usually return to their favourite haunts. One such province may be 

 considered to extend from o to 75 W, the region embraced by the mouth of the 

 Weddell Sea with an extension westwards into the Bellingshausen Sea. These provinces 

 may draw their whales from a particular region of the world's oceans and in this region 

 subtending as it does the South Atlantic, the whales may derive only from the Atlantic 

 Ocean, excluding the eastern portion. The incompleteness and irregularity of whaling 

 tend to render a biased view, but it is possible that dispersal movements may turn in 

 definite directions ; for example, there is, as yet, no westward movement shown from the 

 far eastern grounds off Queen Mary Land. 



MOVEMENTS OF HUMPBACK WHALES 

 The seasonal migrations of Humpback whales have long been known and recognized 

 much more fully than those of other whale species, largely because these movements, in 

 spring towards the Pole and in the autumn towards the Tropics, have appeared to be 

 much more definite and regular than any of the known movements of other whales. The 

 habits of Humpbacks of frequenting shallow waters and following coast-lines have 

 enabled direct observations on this species to be made with greater ease and regularity. 

 These habits, too, cause their wanderings to be more obviously canalized than those of 

 the more exclusively oceanic species. This coast-frequenting habit has led to the 

 establishment, at strategic points, of whaling stations, some of which have been in 

 existence for long periods. These have enabled the migrations to be regularly observed 

 and noted over many years. Such observations may be considered to have established 

 a knowledge of the autumn south to north migration, for breeding purposes, along the 

 coasts of New Zealand, Australia and South Africa and of the return journey towards 

 the south in spring (Matthews, 1937). Actually, there has hitherto been very little direct 

 evidence to support this before whale-marking yielded results. The return of marks 

 from marked Humpback whales has at once given the most definite and most striking 

 picture of the movements of this species and has confirmed in no uncertain manner 

 some of the hitherto conjectured features of the migrations of the Humpback. 



Coincident with the commencement of marking in 1934-35 there was a considerable 

 increase in the importance of this species in the Antarctic catch; in that season the 



