The North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) is one of the world's rarest cetaceans, and little is known about its wintering or summering grounds, hampering conservation efforts. Now, researchers have documented signs of the whale in an area that was a whale-hunting ground in the late 1800s.

David Mellinger at Oregon State University in Newport and his colleagues carried out a year-long acoustic survey at five sites in and around the Cape Farewell Ground waters, an area about 500 kilometres east of southern Greenland. The team recorded more than 2,000 whale communication calls, mainly between July and November, suggesting that the area is still an important summer ground for the creatures.

The data will help to guide the relocation of shipping lanes and restrictions on vessel speed to prevent collisions with the animals.

Biol. Lett. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2010.1191 (2011)