Global whale 'hot spot' discovered off East Timor

One of the world's highest concentrations of dolphins and whales - many of them protected species - has been discovered off the coast of East Timor, local and Australian researchers said yesterday. A "hot spot" of marine cetaceans migrating through deep channels off the Timor coast, including blue and beaked whales, short-finned pilot whales, melon headed whales and six dolphin species was uncovered in a study for the Timor government.

"We were all amazed to see such an abundance, diversity and density of cetaceans. Most of them are actually protected," principal scientist Karen Edyvane said.

"It's among the world's hot spots for cetaceans," she said. The survey was done by East Timorese researchers and experts from the Australian Institute of Marine Science, working from a traditional 20-metre wooden Indonesian vessel.

Deep ocean channels of the Wetar and Ombai straits, which plummet more than 3,000 metres, were a major migratory route for marine wildlife moving between the Pacific and Indian oceans, including large sharks and turtles, the study found.