It is 🤞 Humpback whale season in the lesser Antilles and we are always excited at Eco Dive to see what this season brings us and how lucky we feel this time around. In past years we’ve had whale song accompany us on Freediving dynamic apnea training off Grand Anse Beach, we’ve had shake-your-sternum loud whale song join us while scuba diving in the west coast Marine Park and along the south coast when exploring our Hema I wreck, we’ve also had whales pop up beside our dive boat just outside the harbour of St Georges on our way out for a snorkelling trip. No matter where and when it is always magical and it is unavoidable to feel small and grateful and blessed. As we welcome 2025, although it doesn’t happen often or predictably, here’s to hoping we hear and see lots of happy healthy whales this year. Join us as we keep our eyes and ears peeled and report our findings to Ripples to Waves, this fab organisation spearheading a community effort to gain more information on our transient gentle giants.
To learn more about this programme and the organisations leading the way check our a snippet from their programme design below and follow the links to find out more …
Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) migrate annually through the Eastern Caribbean, linking the feeding grounds of the North Atlantic to the tropical breeding areas. These cetaceans play a crucial role in the nutrient cycle and marine biodiversity but remain insufficiently studied in the Antilles. Despite their ecological and cultural significance, they continue to face various threats throughout their migratory cycle.
To address this knowledge gap, the NGOs Ripples to Waves and the Caribbean Cetacean Society (CCS), in collaboration with all our Caribbean partners, propose launching the Sounds of the Caribbean Sea project. This programme aims to gradually expand throughout the region by collaborating with local dive centres and other marine stakeholders. It plans to collect opportunistic visual and acoustic data, leveraging the songs heard by partner divers and occasional sightings, to track the distribution and migration of the whales while actively involving local sea stakeholders and raising awareness about the importance of their conservation.