{"id":2186,"date":"2021-04-21T11:52:46","date_gmt":"2021-04-21T04:52:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bluejapan.org\/fr\/?page_id=2186"},"modified":"2021-06-12T10:35:24","modified_gmt":"2021-06-12T03:35:24","slug":"whales-dolphins","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/bluejapan.org\/fr\/highlights\/marine-life\/whales-dolphins\/","title":{"rendered":"Whales & Dolphins"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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WHALES, DOLPHINS AND OTHER CETACEANS<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Many areas on the southern and eastern coasts of the Japanese archipelago are close to, or directly on seasonal migration routes of large cetaceans<\/strong> including humpback, Bryde’s and sperm whales, and many islands also have healthy resident populations of dolphins.
Nous ne pouvons qu’esp\u00e9rer que le d\u00e9veloppement des activit\u00e9s d’observation des baleines dans le pays contribuera \u00e0 mettre un terme \u00e0 ses activit\u00e9s tr\u00e8s controvesers\u00e9es de p\u00eache scientifique<\/em><\/a>…<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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HOKKAID\u014c <\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Dall’s porpoise <\/strong>(Phocoenoides dalli<\/em>), orcas <\/strong>(Orcinus orca<\/em>), Berardius\/Baird\u2019s beaked whale <\/strong>(Berardius bairdii<\/em>) are sometimes spotted in Hokkaid\u014d<\/strong>, along with other migratory whales and cetaceans.<\/p>

Beyond cetaceans, other marine mammals<\/strong> spotted in Hokkaid\u014d include harbour seals <\/strong>(Phoca vitulina<\/em>) and s<\/strong>teller sea lions <\/strong>(Eumetopias jubatus<\/em>).<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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KANT\u014c <\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Whales<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Humpback whales<\/strong> (Megaptera novaeangliae<\/em>) are spotted, mostly from boats or from the shore, but quite regularly underwater in the winter to spring months, in the Ogasawara\/Bonin Islands<\/strong> (usually between February and April), and also around the Izu Islands <\/strong>in the winter months (December to March).
Keep in mind that unless you encounter a whale while already in the water, interaction are not allowed in the Ogasawara islands<\/strong>, as boats are required to respect a 100 m exclusion zone around humpbacks.<\/strong><\/p>

Sperm whales<\/strong> (Physeter macrocephalus<\/em>) are also common in the Ogasawara islands during the summer to autumn months, and the islands are one of Japan\u2019s best whale watching \/ spotting destinations, along with the north of the Okinawa island chain.
A 50 m exclusion zone is to be respected around sperm whales<\/strong>, again, unless you are already in the water and the whale comes up to you.<\/p>

Seasonal whale watching in the Izu islands<\/strong> (such as Hachij\u014d, where whales can sometimes be seen from some of the island\u2019s outdoor hot springs<\/strong> \/ rotenburo)<\/em> is still developing as an activity, so expect to hear more on that in the future.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Dolphins<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Swimming and freediving\/snorkeling with pods of wild bottlenose dolphins <\/strong>(Tursiop aduncus)<\/em> is also one of the highlights of the Nanp\u014d islands, both in the Izu<\/strong> and Ogasawara island groups.<\/strong><\/p>

In the Izu island, the hub is Miyake-jima<\/strong>, from which a one-hour boat trip takes you Mikura-jima<\/strong>, where it is possible to join the 3 or 4 boat trips per day organised to snorkel\/freedive with the island\u2019s resident pods of 200+ wild (non-captive) bottlenose dolphins<\/strong>, who often come up to swimmers and snorkelers and play around them.
The Miyake branch of the Dolphin Communication Project<\/strong><\/a> tracks the pods of dolphins that live around the island.
Dolphins are sometimes also seen on dive sites of other Izu islands.<\/p>

The Ogasawara\/Bonin Islands<\/strong> also offer many great opportunities freedive \/snorkel with wild dolphins and other cetaceans, and they are frequently spotted by scuba divers underwater.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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CH\u016aBU <\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Dolphins are regularly seen at Mikomoto island and around the Izu Peninsula.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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SHIKOKU<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Migratory whales<\/strong> are\u00a0 common in south Shikoku.
On K\u014dchi Prefecture\u2019s Pacific coast<\/strong>, especially in the Kuroshio-ch\u014d area, the season runs from April to September, with the peak from July through September.
Common encounters include humpback whales<\/strong> (Megaptera novaeangliae<\/em>), sperm whales<\/strong> (Physeter macrocephalus<\/em>) and also Bryde\u2019s whales<\/strong> (Balaenoptera brydei<\/em>) Risso\u2019s dolphins<\/strong> (Grampus griseus<\/em>) or bottlenose dolphins<\/strong> (Tursiops aduncus<\/em>)<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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KY\u016aSH\u016a <\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Amami \u014cshima<\/strong> or the Tokara islands<\/strong> offer good seasonal whale watching<\/strong> of migratory humpback whales<\/strong> (Megaptera novaeangliae<\/em>), sperm whales<\/strong> (Physeter macrocephalus<\/em>) and also Bryde\u2019s whales<\/strong> (Balaenoptera brydei<\/em>)) or bottlenose dolphins<\/strong> (Tursiops aduncus<\/em>), but the main hotspot<\/strong> is a little further south, in Okinawa\u2019s Kerama islands<\/strong>.<\/p>

Ky\u016bsh\u016b\u2019s dolphin watching <\/strong>is mostly done around the Amami <\/strong>or Tokara islands<\/strong>, but also up north. A large pod of wild Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin<\/strong> (Tursiops aduncus<\/em>) live around the Amakusa islands<\/strong> in Kumamoto Prefecture, and dolphin-watching tours are organised around the famous group of 1,200 islands.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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OKINAWA<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Migratory whale watching<\/strong> is big in the Okinawa region, in the winter months, especially to the north of Okinawa\u2019s main island<\/strong>.<\/p>

The Kerama islands are one of Japan\u2019s main humpback whale watching hotspot, <\/strong>especially between December and April.<\/p>

Humpback whales<\/strong> (Megaptera novaeangliae<\/em>), sperm whales<\/strong> (Physeter macrocephalus<\/em>) and pilot whales<\/strong> (Globicephala) <\/em>and false killer-whales<\/strong> (Pseudorca crassidens<\/em>) are also spotted in the Yaeyama islands<\/strong> during their migration north in the winter months.<\/p>

Humpback whales<\/strong> are also sometimes spotted near Kume Island<\/strong>, roughly 100km west of Okinawa Main Island, especially in the Tombara<\/strong> area in the winter months.<\/p>

More on whale watching in Okinawa here<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Other marine life highlights<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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