BA-VIC Victorian
Pelagic 12.12.04
SUMMARY: This was a
good trip for comfort and marine mammals but poor for diversity and abundance of
seabirds.
OBSERVERS: Chris
Lester (organiser), Rob Berry, Rohan Clarke, Gail D’Alton, Tim Dolby, Rosemary
Lester, David Mules, Grant Penrhyn, Frank Pierce, Adam Rigg, Ray Schultz, Simon
Starr, David Stickney, & Mike Carter (leader).
WEATHER: A trough
dominated Western Bass Strait with distant weak lows to the N, S & E while a
high was approaching from SW WA. The warm and humid conditions of the previous
week continued but the storms had passed. Thus initially we had light (5 Kt) SW
winds inshore, which died to nothing offshore. The morning was very hazy with
some light drizzle, mostly good all-round light but at times dull with
visibility reduced to below 3 km. We had eerie, silent, disorientating
conditions when drifting. At midday, as we steamed west, we suddenly ran into a
10 Kt SW breeze which persisted for the remainder of the day. 100% cloud cover
prevailed until 14.00 then cleared to reveal the sun.
SEA: Until noon we
had a flat, often glassy sea, on a low (0.5 m) swell. The sudden arrival of the
wind at midday immediately produced a slight chop and the swell rose to 1.0 m.
So it was a comfortable ride with virtually no spray. No-one was
sick.
ACTIVITY: Sailed
from Port Fairy (38º23’18”S 142º14’30”E) at 07.05.
We went out on our usual course of 205º at 13.2 Kts. Apart
from several pods of Common Dolphins, the 2.5 hour journey to the shelf-break
was uneventful. Even offshore between the 50 and 90 fathom depths where the
sounder showed huge shoals of fish, there were few birds. We crossed the shelf
into pelagic waters at 09.37 and continued out to 250 fathoms at 39º49.2’s
141º53.2’E where we berleyed with shark liver and small fish. We attracted just
a few birds but they weren’t hungry and soon ignored us. Also, two operating
trawlers had very few birds in attendance. We cruised around and found some
albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters just resting on the sea. It seemed as
though the few birds about were satiated and reckoned that flying for a scrap of
food in the windless conditions not worth the effort. We did get a glimpse of a
Sperm Whale near a newly erected oil-rig. Eventually we headed further
west, ran into some wind and then attracted 100 birds, hungry and eager to
please, while we berleyed at 38º48.0’S 141º46.7’E between 12.30 and 13.10 where
the depth was 151 fathoms. We came in at 13.5 Kts via Lady Julia Percy Island
(LJPI) where we cruised slowly off the W & N shores from 15.00 to 15.20.
Docked at 16.20.
MAMMALS:
SPERM
WHALE: One at 11.40 at
38º57.8’S 141º47.2’E in 420 fathoms issued two blows before deep diving, raising
its fluke as it submerged. Not seen again but later two more blows from an
unidentified cetacean were seen.
COMMON
DOLPHINS: Widespread (11
encounters, pod size from 4 to 40) and abundant (total c. 150). Most in offshore
waters but one pod inshore and one in pelagic waters. They put on a great
display, most photographers obtaining shots of them
‘flying’.
ELEPHANT
SEAL: 1 @ LJPI. Presumably
the same animal present last year.
Australian Fur
Seals: >3,000 at LJPI
and numerous sightings elsewhere at sea.
BIRDS: Only16
species of seabird observed beyond the river mouth indicated below average
diversity. Unless noted otherwise, those listed below were near or beyond the
shelf break (i.e. pelagic). Notable absences included the great Albatrosses,
Storm-Petrels, and Jaegers.
Little
Penguin: 3 inshore, 1 pelagic &
2 on LJPI.
Great-winged
Petrel: c. 50 (40). 1 nominate race, most apparently gouldi.
Fairy Prion: 36
(12). 1 inshore, 10 offshore & 25 pelagic.
WHITE-CHINNED
PETREL: 10 (3).
Flesh-footed
Shearwater: 30 (15). 4 offshore & 26 pelagic.
Sooty Shearwater: 6
(3).
Short-tailed
Shearwater: 400 (50). 240 inshore, 80 offshore & 80 pelagic.
Fluttering
Shearwater: 10 (10).
Black-browed
Albatross melanophrys: 3 (2) sub-ads.
Shy Albatross
cauta: 80 (36). 10 offshore & 70 pelagic. 60 adults, 8
sub-
ads, 12 juvs.
Yellow-nosed
Albatross: 1 juv.
Australasian
Gannet: c.45 (30). 110 inshore, 50 off & 2 ads.
pelagic.
Black-faced
Cormorant: 3 ads. on LJPI.
Kelp Gull: 3 ads.
& 2 sub-ads. on LJPI.
Silver Gull: 2
inshore & 35 on LJPI.
Crested Tern: 10
(4), inshore.
White-faced
Heron: 1 circling high 55 km out to sea!
