Suffolk team set sail to save the whales

A team of marine researchers has left Suffolk to spend several months studying endangered whales.

They set sail from Ipswich on 25 March bound for the Azores, the east coast of America and Iceland. On the list of animals they'll be looking for are Right and Minke whales. With money from the International Fund for Animal Welfare they'll be hoping to promote whale conservation and responsible whale watching.

In particular the team are looking for baleen whales - large varieties such as minke, sperm, blue and fin whales. Known to migrate around the North Atlantic. It'll be a tight fit for the crew of ten or eleven but their focus is to identify and photograph these species.

On board the boat, the Song of the Whale is expert marine listener, Miriam Romagosa, who normally works on windfarms.

From Ipswich the Song of the Whale will head to the Azores - looking for the endangered North Atlantic Right Whale. Then onto Boston in America. On the return leg it's to Iceland to study Minke whales behaviour. The Song of the Whale won't return to East Anglian shores until late September.