Using Citizen Science to ID Southern Right Whales in Patagonia

Currently, our long-term database includes information on more than 5,000 identified individuals. It serves as a vital resource for studying population abundance, reproduction success, survival, and other research topics. This 55-year-old database is the longest-running scientific whale research project worldwide based on photo-ID and provides a continuous source of data not only for scientific research but also for promoting conservation efforts and public outreach.

In 2016, we launched a citizen science project in collaboration with the Puerto Pirámides Whale-Watching Guides Association to incorporate whale photographs taken from tourist boats into our aerial survey catalog. Through this initiative, the local community plays an active role in the research and conservation of southern right whales, a species closely tied to the identity, culture, and tourism-based economy of Puerto Pirámides. Thanks to the support of the Marine Conservation Action Fund (MCAF), the project expanded in 2022, strengthening local capacity through the training of a full team of Argentine right whale photo-ID researchers led by MCAF Fellow Florencia Vilches. We received more than 460,000 photos from whale-watching guides, from which we identified 278 new individuals to add to our catalog, as well as 122 known individuals that were missed during our aerial surveys.