Dear Colleagues, On behalf of my co-authors, I am pleased to share our brief report in Polar Biology documenting A super-group of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in a krill no take zone at South Georgia.
Ryan, C., Reid, J., Coleman, J. *et al.* A super-group of humpback whales (*Megaptera novaeangliae*) in a krill no take zone at South Georgia. *Polar Biol* 49, 93 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-026-03534-6 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00300-026-03534-6 Abstract The Western South Atlantic humpback whale population is almost or completely recovered, following intensive whaling around South Georgia, chiefly between 1904 and 1916. One ofthe consequences of recovery is the formation of foraging super-groups of whales, which are challenging to count. Here, we counted a humpback whale super-group which was observed inside a krill No-Take Zone at Clerke Rocks off South Georgia in November 2025. A Poisson process was used to model the number of expected, apparently random visualcues (whale blows) which were photographed and filmed. Cor-recting for availability bias due to breath-hold diving, we estimated 710 (95% CI: 620–820) humpback whales.Estimating group size separately, by eye, under-counted by 36–53%. The super-group wasreminiscent of a pre-whaling account in 1904 by C.A. Larsen of an exceptionally largeaggregation of humpback whales at the same location. Although an iso- lated observation, it raises the possibility that progressive fisheries measures may be benefiting large krillpredators in a Southern Ocean No Take Zone which merits further investigation. We are happy to provide a pdf, please contact: Dr Conor Ryan [email protected] Thanks, Jonathan Reid
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