shots of whales ever taken during a six week study.

The Bermuda Biological Station for Research will be using its most sophisticated technology along with leading experts from the US to gain a unique insight into the habits of the whales.

The Bio Station's remotely-operated vehicle (ROV) will be placed among the whales to determine whether they feed in waters off the Island.

A $50,000 donation from Exxon has made the experiment possible and it means renowned whale experts Prof. Steve Katona and Mr. Greg Stone can now spend long periods involved in the study.

Bio Station director Dr. Tony Knap said: "It will be the first time that ROVs have been used around whales and we should get a lot of good coverage of their behaviour. Both our ROVs have electric motors which makes them quiet enough not to disturb the whales.

"The scientific question we are trying to answer is whether they will feed in transit on the banks.

"We also intend to put some non-harmful acoustic devices on the whales so we can follow their progress. We will attach them using a diver.'' The team will go out to the banks on board the Curlew which will be equipped to carry the ROV.

The larger of the Bio Station's two ROVs is presently undergoing a number of electronic changes to prepare it for the Jason Project in Belize. It will receive a number of hi-tech alterations which will be retained when it is returned to Bermuda.

In the past, whales had been thought to starve themselves during migration between feeding grounds in the North Atlantic and the Caribbean. But during a recent whale watch off Bermuda, Prof. Katona noticed a whale had defecated, normally a sign that it had recently eaten.

Dr. Knap said he hoped local experts like Mr. Richard Winchell of the Aquarium and diver Mr. Teddy Tucker will accompany the team.

"This is of both local and international interest,'' he added. "A lot of people are interested in things dealing with marine mammals.

"We should get plenty of great footage which could, some time in the future, be shown on television in one form or another.'' He said he was grateful to Exxon for the $50,000 donation making the experiment possible.

"Exxon and Esso are the most long-standing corporate sponsors of the Biological Station. They asked us for projects what we wanted to carry out, for which we did not have traditional funding through the federal authorities.

"We consulted with Steve Katona, who is President of the College of the Atlantic, and a world expert in whales.

"We tried to find a specific piece of research which related to Bermuda. We decided to look at the question of whether whales feed off Bermuda.'' President of Coral Petroleum and general manager of Esso (Bermuda), Mr. Keith Hollis presented the cheque on behalf of Exxon this week.

Mr. Hollis said: "Exxon is an organisation that likes to be involved in science and we like to support this type of research.

"We donate $50,000 every year for the Bio Station's scholarship programme for students from around the world. We also contribute to programmes looking at ways of dealing with oil spills in the sea and on the rocks.'' Meanwhile, a new $15,000 electronic arm has arrived at the Bio Station and will be installed to an ROV by marine technician Mr. Barry Bjork.

The arm will enable samples to be taken at great depths in the ocean according to Dr. Knap. "We will be looking at drugs from the sea and how organisms are developed to fight disease in the sea. Then there will be some DNA testing.

"We need an experienced ROV pilot like Barry to drive the thing from sea level because we would not want to lose $95,000 worth of equipment under a ledge.'' ARMED AND READY -- Marine technician Mr. Barry Bjork with the $15,000 arm that will be able to pick up samples from the ocean bottom.