Two species of minke whales migrate in the Southern Ocean from high latitude feeding grounds to lower latitude breeding areas: (1) the Antarctic minke whale (Balaenoptera bonaerensis,) and (2) the dwarf minke whale (an unnamed subspecies of the common minke whale, Balaenoptera acutorostrata) (Perrin et al., 2018). Antarctic minke whales were recently listed as "Near Threatened" in the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List, and imprecise population estimates show a 31% decline between 1993 and 2004 (Cooke et al., 2018). To date, dwarf minke whale population estimates and trends are not available, the species having only recently been recognised as a separate species from the Antarctic minke whale (Cooke, 2018). Moreover, information on the full geographic distribution of Southern Ocean minke whales is still scarce. Indeed, whereas Antarctic summer feeding grounds are relatively well documented, at least for B. bonaerensis, much uncertainty remains about Southern Hemisphere wintering grounds (Cooke, 2018; Cooke etal., 2018). Groups of Antarctic minke whales have been found to remain in the Antarctic (Risch et al., 2014), while others migrate to lower latitudes (Best, 1982) such as northern Brazil, central South Pacific Ocean, and eastern and southern Indian Ocean (Lee et al., 2017; Perrin et al., 2018). Very little is known about their migratory routes, and the location of breeding and calving grounds is believed to be broadly dispersed offshore (Kasamatsu et al., 1995).

Minke whales are known to frequent the French Polynesia (FP) marine mammal sanctuary (Articles A 121-3 to 121-7 Environmental Polynesian Code) during austral winter, but the rare encounters are seldom documented. Kasamatsu et al. (1995) reported relatively high densities of southern minke whales in the vicinity of FP in November between 1976 and 1987 (but with poor spatial precision), suggesting that FP could be a wintering ground for Antarctic minke whales. No Balaenoptera species have been recorded in cetacean surveys conducted in the area between 1996 and 1999 (Cannier, 2000) and in 2011 (Mannocci et al., 2014), however. To our knowledge, no study has since investigated more deeply to accurately determine which minke whale species are repeatedly visiting FP waters and whether the FP marine mammal sanctuary is part of their migration route or a breeding/calving ground. Herein, we describe five sightings of Antarctic minke whales that were reported in 2014 (one observation), 2019 (three observations), and 2020 (one observation) by whale-watching tour operators off Moorea Island, FP All observations were first made with the naked eye from a boat. For each sighting event, videos were taken from the boat and underwater. Additionally, pictures were taken in 2014 with a Canon 5D Mark III and an EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM lens. In 2019 and 2020, above-surface videos were taken with a Sony AX700 camera, and underwater shots were taken using a GoPro Hero6. The same observer was present for all 2019 and 2020 sightings, and one to three experienced observers were present for each sighting. On site, the observers identified the species visually from the boat and underwater. The distance...