Whale season begins

THE first Southern Right Whale of the season has been spotted on Victoria’s southwest coast after undertaking the annual migration from sub-Antarctic feeding grounds.

Southern Right Whales visit local coastlines from May to October each year, and can often be seen in waters off Portland, Port Fairy, Warrnambool, the Great Ocean Road, and as far north as the Bellarine Peninsula and Corio Bay. There were reports of a sighting off Fishermans Beach in Torquay last week.

DELWP natural environment program officer Mandy Watson said there had been confirmed sightings of a Southern Right Whale that appeared off the coast of Portland late last month.

“It appears to be a juvenile whale, in images captured by local whale photographers.

“This marks the start of what we’re hoping will be a good breeding season for these giant mammals that are critically endangered in Victorian waters (under the Victorian Threatened Species Advisory List).”

She said last year was a record season, with female Southern Right Whales delivering seven new calves in the sheltered waters around Warrnambool.

“While we’re hopeful that last year’s results are part of a longer-term trend, numbers do fluctuate from season to season, and the evidence suggests this population is not increasing.

“As female Southern Right Whales generally calve every three years, we are expecting two well-known whales, Big Coaming and Tripod, to return this year to calve. The last time they visited our shores with calves was back in 2015.

“It’s now an exciting time for whale watchers, as they keep a close watch on the coast and particularly the whale nursery area at Logans Beach in Warrnambool, hoping to catch a glimpse of the first mother and calf for the season.”

This season, DELWP researchers will again use drones to identify whales around Warrnambool.

“It follows the successful use of drone technology last season, which identified 12 new whales.”

“DELWP will also be enlisting the help of local wildlife photographers, providing them with training in capturing photographs that can help researchers identify whales.”

To avoid disturbing mothers and calves, boating activity is not permitted within the Logans Beach boating exclusion zone from June 1-October 31.