Twice a year the ocean off the NSW Coast becomes a busy highway.
Between May and July these gentle giants can be seen heading north towards their sub-tropical breeding grounds and then between September and November they pass along coastal waters heading south back to Antarctica.
Here are some scenes of the northern migration in 2023 and 2024 as the whales make their way through the waters off northern New South Wales.
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| Southern Right Whale & her white calf IMAGE: Right Whale ID program volunteer drone operator Maree Jackson NSW Dept. of Planning and Environment, media release, 12 August 2022:
LEAVE THE LITTLE ‘WHITE’ WHALE ALONE
Four pairs of mother-and-calf southern right whales have been seen in NSW waters so far this winter – but one pair is slapping up a frenzy on social media.
The calf in this pair is mostly white, as seen in vision taken from high above, reminding people of the famous humpback Migaloo.
However, National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) Marine Wildlife Team Project Officer Andrew Marshall said while the sighting was exciting, whale fans needed to stay well clear of the family.
It is illegal to approach any closer than 300 metres when a calf is present, if you are on a vessel, including surfboards, paddleboards and kayaks. Drones must legally stay at least 100 metres above the animals.
“The calf appears to be white but is actually brindle,” Mr Marshall said.
“Its ‘white’ areas will darken to grey as it ages – it’s one of around 1-in-30 southern right whale calves born with brindle colouring.
“This is a rare event to see a virtually white brindle calf, as southern right whales are mostly very dark, although some have splashes of white called a blaze.
“If you look closely at the video you can also see pale grey areas on the mother, who also carries the recessive brindle gene,” he said.
The vision was captured off the south coast recently by accredited drone volunteer, Maree Jackson, from the NSW Government’s Right Whale ID research program to monitor the whales.
Maree used her camera’s zoom function from above the legal height of 100 metres to capture the ‘white’ calf surfacing for a breath while swimming alongside its mother.
Her drone approached at 100 metres then used a 7x optical zoom to capture the stunning close-ups.
“Curious onlookers are reminded to keep back and give the nursing mother and calf space to rest undisturbed,” Mr Marshall said.
“A calf needs up to 300 litres of milk a day to gain the weight needed for the 5000-kilometre swim back down to Antarctic waters in the coming month, so both the mother and calf need to be left alone so they can rest and feel safe.”
Now in its second year, the Right Whale ID Program uses highly trained volunteer drone operators to photograph the unique white head-markings on each southern right whale.
The Right Whale ID program operates as part of the Marine Estate Management Strategy, working with volunteer drone operators to collect important information about southern right whales to assist in their management, protection and conservation. Southern Right Whale & her 'white' calf BACKGROUND
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ABC News, 19 September 2021:
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| The Australian coast is a busy route for whales during their annual migration north. (Supplied: Go Whale Watching) |
Queensland researchers say whale watchers have reported fewer sightings this east coast migration season.
But experts say there has been less traffic near popular beaches this year.
Griffith Centre for Coastal Management researcher Dr Olaf Meynecke said it's been an unusual season with whales remaining further out to sea.
"Very different to the last three years at least, because we've had the whales migrate quite far offshore," Dr Meynecke said.
"There's a lot less happening closer to the coast."
Dr Meynecke said the southern migration was now underway, with whales and their calves making their return journey.
He said pods had been more commonly spotted 10-to-15 km offshore.
"We've actually had less entanglements in shark nets and those entanglements usually happen when the whales are close to shore," he said.
"Of course the mums and calves usually come close to shore to rest.
"But there's not as many as we had last year and definitely not as many newborns.
"It's been a very different season."
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Whales and their calves are currently on their return journey south along the east coast.(Supplied: Seaworld) |
Dr Maynecke said the East Australian Current (EAC) - made famous by a certain clownfish - serves as a navigation tool for migrating humpbacks.
He said this year the EAC was further offshore which could explain why whales were too.
Ocean Analyst Lucinda Matthews from the Bureau of Meteorology said the EAC did appear to weaken along the Gold Coast in August and move slightly east.
"It's possible the whales are now staying offshore to stay in the maximum current available to hitch the best ride south," Ms Matthews said……
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| The East Australian Current begins at the point where the westward flowing South Equatorial Current splits into two. (Supplied: Bureau of Meteorology) |
