SYDNEY (AFP) – Australian officials on Tuesday warned the public to stay away from "Migaloo," a much-loved white humpback whale who has reappeared off the eastern coast.
Queensland authorities reminded enthusiasts Migaloo was a "special-interest whale" with a 500-metre (yard) exclusion zone for boats, jetskis and aircraft enforced by a maximum fine of 13,300 US dollars.
"The whale-watching regulations are there to protect the whales, but also to protect people from these huge, unpredictable mammals," said state environment minister Kate Jones.
"Adult humpbacks can weigh more than a fully-loaded semi-trailer so you need to stay out of their way."
Migaloo, meaning "white fella" in one of the Queensland Aboriginal dialects, is the only all-white humpback ever documented and has built up a loyal following since he was first spotted in 1991.
As well as two dedicated websites, the animal also inspired Operation Migaloo, an anti-whale hunting campaign by environmental activists which concluded in March 2008.
Celebrity white humpback Migaloo marks start of Australian whale season
Albino humpback whale Migaloo
Adam Ward, Sydney's Daily Telegraph The Telegraph 2 Jul 09;
Migaloo and friend photographed off Queensland in 2004, Sophie Tedmanson in SydneyWhale watching season has begun in Australia and the star attraction of the annual migration – Migaloo, a rare white humpback – made his first appearance off the eastern coast this week.
The white Eastern Australian humpback celebrity, who was spotted off the coast of northern NSW, causes so much interest during his annual swim up to northern Queensland that the local environment authorities this week declared him a ‘special interest whale’ and threatened to issue hefty fines for anyone who gets too close.
There is now a 500m (1,600ft) exclusion zone around Migaloo for boats and jet skis, and aircraft must not venture closer than 2,000ft above.
The Queensland Environment Minister Kate Jones said anyone found in breach of these conditions faces a fine of up to $16,500 (£8,100). For other whales, the limits are 100m (350ft) for a boat and 300m (1,000ft) for jet skis and other watercraft, with a maximum penalty of $12,000 (£5,800).
“Migaloo has been declared a special-interest whale, granting him more space to swim up the Queensland coast,” Ms Jones said.
“The whale-watching regulations are there to protect the whales, but also to protect people from these huge, unpredictable mammals.
“Adult humpbacks can weigh more than a fully-loaded semi-trailer so you need to stay out of their way.”
Southern Cross University whale researcher Dave Paton spotted Migaloo at Evans Head, just south of Byron Bay near the border of Queensland and NSW, on Tuesday morning and said he was in good spirits and looked healthy.
“He was by himself and just cruising along looking very relaxed,” Mr Paton, who has seen Migaloo six times over the past decade, told The Times.
Migaloo is about 20 years old and weighs approximately 40 tonnes. He was first sighted off Cape Byron – the eastern most point in Australia - in 1991 and is usually spotted once a year during the annual whale migration.
Migaloo is named after the Aboriginal word for ‘white fella’ and is so popular there are two websites and at least four Facebook pages dedicated to him. There is even an album of whale songs being produced which features Migaloo’s distinctive song.
He is one of approximately 11,000 humpbacks who migrate from their feeding ground in Antarctica to different parts of the world each southern winter.
Many of them head for the coasts of New Zealand and Australia where they congregate in the tropical waters of the Great Barrier Reef and Harvey Bay in far north Queensland for mating, birthing and calving.
From the end of June and early July the whales can regularly be seen along the eastern Australian coastline, where whale watching has turned into a popular pastime and lucrative ecotourism business for the winter season, which lasts until November when the humpbacks head back to Antarctica to feed on krill.
Juanita Ryder from Sydney’s True Blue Cruises said this week they have been taking up to 100 people a day – including many tourists from the UK and Europe – for a $75 (£37) boat trip outside the heads of Sydney Harbour to watch the whales as they swim past in the Tasman Sea.
At Harvey Bay in Queensland, whale watching tour operators were this week busy preparing for their annual visitors.
Jill Perry, who has run Harvey Bay Whale Watch with her husband Brian for the past 23 years, said they see on average up to 500 whales and take approximately 12,000 people on whale watching tours each season.
Another popular location for sightings is the cliffs at Cape Byron, where most of the whale group converge before moving north again.
Wally Franklin, a whale researcher and director of The Oceania Project based at Byron Bay, said the population of the migrating humpbacks is improving.
However he added the population is still only 20 per cent of what it was before the last period of commercial whaling in Australia in the late 1960s. He said by the time whaling ceased, the humpback population had been reduced to only 150 individual whales.
Mr Franklin, who later this month will head to Harvey Bay for his annual research expedition, said Migaloo’s distinctive appearance means he is an ‘ambassador’ for the humpbacks.
“His white colouring gives him special significance, and he certainly demands respect because of that,” Mr Franklin, who is producing an album of whale songs which features Migaloo’s song, said.
“And because he is so distinctive and so well known he is somewhat of an ambassador for his group of whales.
“It’s quite an extraordinary experience to be in his presence.”