Science Centres: Aquatic Biodiversity and Biosecurity, Vessels

Australia and New Zealand have launched the first Antarctic whale research expedition as part of the Southern Ocean Research Partnership in Wellington today. The expedition will undertake six weeks of research aboard the NIWA vessel RV Tangaroa in Antarctic waters and will use state of the art non-lethal techniques such as satellite tracking and acoustics surveys to study whales in the Southern Ocean.

Read more at www.marinemammals.gov.au

Follow the Tangaroa's daily location on this map.

See this factsheet about NIWA's RV Tangaroa.

Media contact 

For all media enquiries about this expedition, please contact: Patti Lucas, AAD Public Affairs Manager, +61 439 639 227.

Photos from the Launch

Peter Garrett boarding the Tangora at Wellington's Queens Wharf (Dave Allen - NIWA)

Nick smith, John Morgan, Roger Goodison, Peter Garrett and Paul O'Sullivan at the expedition launch.(Dave Allen - NIWA)