Humpback whales using Hobart's River Derwent for rest during northern migration

Australia Broadcast Center

2 days ago

Humpback whales have been spotted in the River Derwent as far up as Montrose in Hobart's northern suburbs.
Marcus Salton, a wildlife program officer with the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, said there had been a "healthy" amount of sightings this migration season.
"The whales are just cruising around enjoying the shallower, calmer waters and having a bit of a rest period before they continue up the north coast," Dr Salton said.
"It's a big traverse for them to go from Antarctica across the Southern Ocean and then hit Australia.
"At this time of the year, when the whales are migrating north to warmer waters, it's not unusual for us to see them getting up towards the Bowen Bridge."
Dr Salton said sightings of humpbacks would start slowing down towards the end of June and early July.
"We could see some around all winter and into spring, and then during spring we will see another influx as the whales start to move south," he said.
He said different age groups transited at different times.
"Even on their southern migration back to Antarctica, it's not unusual for us to see whales with calves doing some more of that resting behaviour in the many shallow and protected bays we have here in Tasmania," he said.
Dr Salton said there had been fewer sightings of southern right whales than usual.
"They are in lower numbers, so we are very keen to hear about any sightings of southern right whales, in particular," he said.
"They have a unique pattern of callosities or growths on their head, and we can photograph that unique pattern to identify individuals.
"If we hear about southern right whales, we might look at putting up a plane or a drone to get some photos of those individuals to contribute to that national database."
He said the lack of sightings could be due to a number of reasons, including people not reporting them or weather conditions.
"We will see what happens with this season and take it from there in terms of level of concern for the southern right whales," he said.
Dr Salton said southern right whales were known for "logging" behaviour, where they looked like a log floating on the water's surface.
"They tend to like hanging out in shallow protected waters, and we've got a lot of that in the Derwent and Storm Bay," he said.
He said there had been sightings of blue whales, including feeding behaviour off Tasmania's east coast.
"It has happened before, but it's a bit unusual," he said.
Dr Salton said fur seals and dolphins were known to go even further up the River Derwent than the Bowen Bridge.
"They are usually chasing bait fish that are travelling up the river," he said.
He said seals bred over summer, and then over winter they were fattening up and preparing for the next breeding season.
"We see an influx of fur seals within the Derwent at this time of year, particularly feeding," he said.
Dolphins enjoyed bait fish, which had been hanging around later than usual, Dr Salton said.
"We might be seeing more of them in the Derwent than we usually would, but it's not unusual for us to see dolphins in the Derwent all year round," he said.
Bec Williams and her family were lucky enough to watch the humpback whales from their boat on the River Derwent.
"My husband recently bought a boat, and one of the conditions of that was that if there were ever whales about we need to go and see them," she said.
Following the safety guidelines for observing whales, Ms Williams said she expected the whales to be on the southern side of the Bowen Bridge and was surprised to see them on the northern side.
"I don't think people realise how incredible whales actually are.
"We took our young kids out, and I told them people can go an entire lifetime without seeing anything like this, and we have it right in our backyard."
She said viewing the whales from 100 metres away was still very impressive.
Dr Salton said it was important that vessels followed the guidelines.
"It keeps people safe and keeps the whales safe and minimises disturbance while they are here, and hopefully that will encourage them to use the area going forward," he said.
"They're amazing animals; everyone is always in awe of them."
Whale sightings can be reported by calling 0427 942 537.