Killer cull has a long legacy

THE culling of killer whales more than two decades ago has had a lasting effect on their population in the Southern Ocean, according to research from Deakin University.

The longitudinal study has revealed the killer whale population in subantarctic waters near the Crozet Islands remains less than half what it was when illegal fishing started in 1996.

The research says the loss of family members in the whales’ organised social groups had a catastrophic long-term affect on the remaining population.

The research team studied the behaviour of 221 killer whales between 1987 and 2014.