Category Archives: Uncategorized

During a month in the Marquesas we were fortunate to have favorable weather conditions much of the time. Ocean conditions however, were rarely favorable. We generally had large swells and high winds, yet we were still able to collect valuable … Continue reading →

Our last survey on Nuku Hiva, and the last of this research project, was a fair representative of our month in the Marquesas because we had several encounters with spinner dolphins, spotted dolphins and melon-headed whales. With the good ocean … Continue reading →

This morning the weather conditions prevented us from going out on the boat.  But for the first time in what locals say may be almost 20 years, spinner dolphins came into Taiohae Bay, so we conducted land-based surveys in the … Continue reading →

This morning the south shore of Nuku Hiva was as busy with dolphins as the Los Angeles freeway is with cars! Four dolphin encounters, one right after the other: Rush Hour Marquesas style! A school of spinner dolphins, followed by … Continue reading →

Weather conditions today were once again less than optimal, with high winds and rough seas, but Nuku Hiva’s west cost provided a nice lee stretching several km out, so we were able to survey the inshore and the offshore waters … Continue reading →

Once again weather conditions were less than optimal with high winds and a large ocean swell, but still we were able to survey the inshore waters of the south shore and west coast, as well as some of the offshore … Continue reading →

Today was the first day the weather was too bad to go out, and there was also a problem with the boat. Two of us stayed at the B&B and worked and the other two went on a 4×4 tour … Continue reading →

The ocean conditions limited our surveys to the south shore and the west coast of the island today. Our first encounter was not dolphins, but an aggregation of manta rays in the next bay over from Taiohae Bay (where our … Continue reading →

Today we were rewarded with a large group of very active spinner dolphins a few hundred meters offshore. Adults, juveniles and calves alike were leaping and spinning in all directions. After collecting samples from this group, we encountered a mixed … Continue reading →

Today was our first day working at Nuku Hiva. This island is bigger than the other islands we surveyed (it is the second largest island in French Polynesia behind Tahiti). Our captain, Pipapo, was very familiar with where to look … Continue reading →