Cheynes Beach locals spot two whales 30kms off coast, making a timely arrival for the season

The first whale sighting of the season has thrilled locals with two whales, speculated to be blue whales, making an timely appearance off the coast of Cheynes Beach near Tourist Rock.

Carmen Fitzgerald and her husband were driving home from Albany when they spotted something around 30m off the coast near Tourist Rock at noon yesterday.

“We were driving home and noticed the two blows so close to the coast, so we followed them from Tourist Rock to Bald Island,” said Ms Fitzgerald.

Craig Marshall, a Cheynes Beach local, also spotted a blow in the water, but couldn’t get close enough to confirm the species.

“It was difficult to tell from the distance, when it surfaced it didn’t arch enough to see the dorsal fin to tell the difference.

“And a humpback that has been moving fast can perform a strong blow that mimics a blue whale’s high volume and height, I was on the veranda of my house that is about 800m from where the whale surfaced,” said Mr Marshall.

Marine biologist Kirsty Alexander says the sightings are most likely blue whales based on migration season.

“It’s about the right time for blue whale migration, so the sightings are more than likely blue whales,” she said.

“Blue whales can be a bit harder to spot as they tend to stay off the coast, humpbacks and southern right whales are generally easier to spot but it’s too early for their migrating season,”

Blue whales remain on the endangered species list but there is hope that population numbers are increasing.

“Numbers-wise I don’t know by how much the blue whale population has increased, but since whaling ceased we have seen an uptick in the population,” Ms Alexander said.

The last blue whale census was held in 2010 and lack of funding for another census has made it difficult to calculate current population numbers for the species.

Have you spotted any whales this season? Send your photos to news@albanyadvertiser.com.