Whale watching season is back: What you should know
We’re coming into the prime whale-spotting season, so maintain a proper lookout and slow downA chance meeting with a whale last weekend that left one man hospitalised and the skipper vowing to sell his boat is a stark reminder to all water users to take a bit more care over the coming months.
Late last week, a 6.0-metre fishing boat with four people on board was heading back to shore after a tuna fishing expedition out at Shouten Passage in eastern Tasmania when it collided with a whale while travelling about 10 knots.
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"The description they used when they had contact with the whale was like hitting a brick wall with a car, and it forced them forward into the dash of the boat where they had facial injuries, back injuries and some muscle injuries," Game Fish Tasmania Sports Fishing Club vice-president Adrian Morrisby told the ABC.
"The skipper is actually that shocked he is talking about selling the boat,” he said.
Chance encounters with whales are happening more often as their numbers build in the wake of international whaling bans that appear to be working.
Humpback and southern right whales are the most common species to migrate along the Australian coastline, with many heading from cooler waters off the southern coast of Western Australia to the warmer tropical waters around Queensland.
Some tend to travel close inshore, and will often calve in sheltered waters along the coastline.
Top whale-spotting tourist sites include the Great Barrier Reef and the Whitsundays in Queensland, Eden in NSW, Bruny Island in Tasmania, Warrnambool in Victoria, Victor Harbour or the Great Australian Bight Marine Park in South Australia, and offshore to Bremer Canyon, Albany or Geographe Bay in Western Australia.
The rules about how a boat is to behave around a whale will depend on how far offshore you encounter it.
If the whale is more than 3.0 nautical miles from shore, what you can do is covered under commonwealth laws. That means a boat must slow down within 300 metres of a whale, and the skipper cannot steer towards the whale once it is within 100 metres of the vessel.
Even if it comes up out of the water right next to your boat, no one is allowed to touch a whale.
Within 3.0 nautical miles of land, individual state rules apply and will vary slightly depending on where you are, so it pays to be aware of what the differences are.
For instance, NSW makes it clear that once a boat comes within 300 metres of a whale, it must be moving so slowly that it leaves no wake that would disturb another boat.
If the whale has a calf, the closest a boat can get is 150 metres.
How to approach a whale in a boat
- Vessels must always travel at a speed that allows them to stop in time to avoid disturbing or colliding with an animal, taking in mind different circumstances and conditions. Inside the 300-metre caution zone, the speed must be slow and constant and leave a negligible wake.
- Look at the direction the animals are travelling in. Plan a course so your vessel will not cut across their path, or move directly in front or behind them. Approach the caution zone at an angle of not less than 30 degrees from the animal's direction of travel at a steady constant speed, watching for changes in behaviour or direction. Post a lookout whose only job is to watch the whales tell the skipper what they are doing.
- If there is a calf in a group (defined as half the length of an adult) it is illegal to enter the 300-metre caution zone.
- If a calf comes up to a boat inside the 300-metre caution zone, the skipper must switch off or disengage drive from the engine, or immediately head away at a constant low speed.
- If a whale appears disturbed, boats must leave the caution zone at a constant, slow speed.
- Be aware that there may be restrictions on the number of boats that can get close to a whale at the same time.
How do I tell if a whale is disturbed?
- Watch for sharp changes in direction or swimming speed
- A whale will often dive quickly to escape danger
- The breathing pattern may change
- The whale may show aggressive behaviour such as tail thrashing and trumpet blowing (making a wheezy, whistling sound)
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