As part of a high school-university collaboration project, Assistant Professor Gen Nakamura and students from our university's cetacean research laboratory (2(name) participated, and teachers from Tokyo Metropolitan Oshima Marine International High School (3name) and student (10We conducted a visual survey of cetaceans in the Izu Islands in collaboration with Japan. The investigation is3Month16,17Of the day2During the day, the high school's training ship, Oshima Maru (681ton). This is the second time the Oshima Maru has conducted a visual survey of cetaceans, following last year.

　Mikurajima, Miyakejima, Kozushima, Shikinejima, Niijima, Toshima and Oshima distance shore1Nautical miles (approx.1.8 km) and went around each island. The winds and swells were generally strong, making it a difficult environment for visual surveys, but Kozushima4group5We discovered a humpback whale and one group of large cetaceans of unknown species.

　In recent years, in the Izu Islands, there have been reports of discoveries on Miyakejima as well as Hachijojima, where research is being conducted jointly by the University's Cetaceanology Laboratory and the Hachijo Town/Hachijojima Tourist Association. The discovery confirmed that the distribution of humpback whales has spread over a wide area in the Izu Islands. Additionally, Assistant Professor Nakamura gave a lecture while on board, and the high school students participating in the survey deepened their knowledge about cetaceans.

Whaling in the Izu Islands

Onboard lecture

Tokyo Metropolitan Oshima Marine International High School training ship Oshima Maru

Related links (Opens the link in a new window.)

• Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology Cetaceanology Laboratory HP
• Cetaceanology Laboratory X
• Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology High School and University Collaboration Project HP
• Tokyo Metropolitan Oshima Marine International High School HP
• Hachijojima Humpback Whale Ecology Survey (Hachijojima Tourism Association) HP