Whales were the stars of the show on Wednesday as the Port’s whale watching season was officially launched, and the creatures did not disappoint.
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Humpback whales, migrating through Port Stephens north to warmers waters, were seen slapping their tails, spraying water and even breaching.
“We are already seeing humpbacks regularly,” Imagine Cruises skipper Frank Future said.
“Our stunningly beautiful coastline with its amazing islands, resident seal and dolphin colonies and the old light station at Point Stephens makes a whale watch from the Port a photographer’s dream.”
The first humpback whale of the season was reportedly seen on May 4.
Two weeks later, lucky whale watchers aboard Imagine Cruises vessel Envision were treated to the ‘mugging’ by a pair of juvenile humpbacks.
A mugging is when a whale approaches within the 100m distancing vessels must keep from the animals. When this happens, operators must shut down engines and allow the animals to safely move around them.
While this did not occur on Wednesday, whale watchers on Imagine Cruises and Moonshadow-TQC Cruises were still treated to a playful show by juvenile humpbacks.
Eileen Gilliland, CEO of Destination Port Stephens, launched the whale watching season in Nelson Bay on Wednesday morning.
She said whale watching was a key experience for attracting visitors to Port Stephens.
“Port Stephens is one of NSWs leading regional tourism destinations, attracting almost 1.5 million visitors,” Ms Gilliland said.
“This is estimated to generate $534 million in the local economy. That's almost $ 1.5million every single day of the year, so [tourism] contributes a lot to the local economy.
“As a prime location on the NSW coast to see these majestic creatures in action the whale season in Port Stephens is a very important driver of visitation, particularly in the cooler months, to our region.
“The whales are heading north now, passing Port Stephens as they seek warmer waters to give birth to their young. We’re expecting more than 30,000 whales to pass our coastline on their 12,000km journey.
“The whales migrate very close to Port Stephens, making them easy to spot.
“There are not many places in the world where you can go whale and dolphin watching at the same time, but all cruises from Port Stephens offer this amazing experience.”
The whale watching season in Port Stephens runs from mid-May to August when humpbacks migrate north to their calving ground in the South Pacific region.
The southern migration takes place from August to mid-November when mothers and newborn calves make their way back down to the feeding grounds in Antarctica
