Humpback Numbers Double In Australia
EVERY year, whales migrate along the Pacific coastline attracting inquisitive and awestruck eyes to Far South Coast beaches, headlands, lookouts and boats.
They usually head north to the warm coastal waters of Queensland and the Coral Sea to mate and give birth from late April to August, and return southwards from around September to November.
According to yet-to-be-published research by Geoffrey Ross, wildlife management officer and coordinator of the Marine Fauna Program for the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) off Cape Solander south of Botany Bay, humpback whale migration periods are becoming longer every year as their numbers increase rapidly.
“Roughly by 2017 we will be seeing twice the number of whales passing Cape Solander than we saw in 2009,” Mr Ross said.