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Both humpback and blue whales are being hunted for research New Zealand and Australian scientists are about to hunt some of the biggest predators in the icy Southern Ocean - humpback and blue whales. The NIWA research vessel Tangaroa leaves Wellington today for a six-week voyage to Terra Nova Bay in Antarctica via the Balleny Islands, about 2000km south of New Zealand. Twenty-one scientists from the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, Antarctica NZ and the Australian Antarctic Division are aboard, hoping to find out more about the Antarctic population of whales, as well as Antarctic toothfish and what they feed on. "The Balleny Islands are known as a feeding hotspot for humpbacks but little is known about what they eat," says voyage leader Richard O'Driscoll. "Commercial whaling almost wiped out the blue whales, however, there are signs they are now starting to come back." The scientists will drop "sonobuoys" in the water which will allow them to listen for the whales' songs and pinpoint where the whale "hotspots" are in the frigid waters. The expedition is costing $4 million and the scientists say it will be well worth it for the information gathered. source