Migration Corridors

Many of the larger marine animals follow set routes when they migrate from one area to another with changing seasons. The location of these routes, known as migration corridors, are becoming more well known as studies continue but it has taken more than a century of research to gather the little information that exists.

Humpback whales spend winter in low-latitude, warm-water breeding grounds and summer in high-latitude, cold-water feeding grounds, migrating thousands of kilometers between the two. There are thought to be at least ten distinct subpopulations distributed between the northern and southern hemisphere with some mixing taking place although probably not across the equator. Subpopulations that breed in winter off the coasts of Colombia and Australia in the Pacific, Brazil and South-west Africa in the Atlantic and East Africa and India in the Indian Ocean move down to feed in the cold waters of Antarctica in the summer months. While humpbacks breeding in the Caribbean migrate to the eastern coast of the United States where it borders Canada and also up to Greenland and Iceland. In addition there are subpopulations wintering in Mexico and around Hawaii that travel to Alaska and those off the West Coast of Africa migrate up to Norway. Another migratory species, the gray whale, can be found feeding in Arctic waters between April to November and breeding off Mexico during December to April.

Some turtles also follow migration routes between feeding areas and nesting beaches, as might large fish such as tuna and marlin, though much less ins known about these species. Migration for some marine species though is predictable, and the timing and location can be used within management plans by these coastal states to help protect the animals on their long journeys. For any conservation measures to be successful international cooperation is required between nations and several international conventions and agreements have been drawn up in recognition of these global issues.