They’re coming back – and they’re not alone
Issued: 14 May 2024
More than 30,000 humpbacks are expected to enter Queensland waters in 2024.
It has been nicknamed the ‘humpback highway’ but there is more going on beneath the surface during the annual migration than the spectacular recovery of a threatened species.
There are more than 30 species of marine mammal known to inhabit the waters off the Queensland coast, with many of those species whales or dolphins.
Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service Strandings Coordinator Dr Owen Coffee said the annual migration of humpbacks was a celebration of a species that was almost wiped out due to unregulated hunting.
“The first whales should be seen in Queensland waters soon as they embark on their annual sea change into warmer waters,” Dr Coffee said.
“Humpbacks have spent months in the cold southern waters fattening up for their trek north where they will breed and birth in the warmer waters.
“When hunting stopped in the sixties, their population was estimated at around 500, and it has now increased to more than 30,000.
“This is a magnificent achievement for conservation, and thousands of people are expected to take part in a whale watching tour later this year.
“Seeing whales breaching while on a tour or from the beach is an exhilarating moment that can leave people breathless, and seeing them up close from a boat can leave people awestruck by their sheer size.
“During the migration, boaties will be sharing the water with the humpback whales, and these 40-tonne mammals can behave unpredictably by surfacing at any moment, by launching themselves out of the water or nudging boats out of curiosity.
“Boaties can reduce the risks by watching the ocean around them, observing approach limits and by understanding that whales will still be on the move at night.”
Dr Coffee said people may be surprised by the number of whale and dolphin species that share Queensland waters with humpback whales.
“From January 2021 to December 2023 we recorded strandings for 15 different species up and down the Queensland coast,” he said.
“Humpbacks, by far, are the most famous of the whale species for their migration from waters off Antarctica, but other species move up and down our coast.
“Sadly, some of them strand and die, and they include sperm whales, false killer whales, pilot whales, Bryde’s whales and minke whales.
“In 2013, a pod of killer whales stranded near the Wide Bay, with at least three of them dying.
“Those species may not be in the same migratory numbers as our iconic humpbacks, but we know they are out there.
“During the annual migration, keep a look out for whales in the water and observe the approach limits and speed limits.”
Marine strandings should be reported to the department as soon as possible by calling 1300 130 372
Read more information about the annual migration, including approach limits.
| Odonticeti | (incl. Dolphins, Porpoises and toothed whales) | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Delphinus delphis | Short-beaked common dolphin | 4 |
| Orcaella heinsohni | Australian Snubfin Dolphin | 2 |
| Sousa sahulensis | Australian Humpback Dolphin | 15 |
| Tursiops aduncus | Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin | 16 |
| Tursiops truncatus | Common Bottlenose dolphin | 5 |
| Globicephala macrorhynchus | Short-finned Pilot Whale | 1 |
| Kogia breviceps | Pygmy Sperm Whale | 4 |
| Kogia sima | Dwarf Sperm Whale | 1 |
| Mesoplodon densirostris | Blainville's Beaked Whale | 2 |
| Peponocephala electra | Melon-headed whale | 2 |
| Physeter macrocephalus | Sperm Whale | 1 |
| Pseudorca crassidens | False Killer Whale | 1 |
| Undetermined | 20 | |
| Mysticeti | (Baleen whales) | |
| Balaenoptera acutorostrata | Dwarf/Common Minke Whale | 3 |
| Balaenoptera edeni | Bryde's Whale | 2 |
| Megaptera novaeangliae | Humpback Whale | 51 |
| Undetermined | 10 | |