MINKE MAGIC
Every year, mysterious dwarf minke whales emerge from the depths to
gather together on the Great Barrier Reef. Where they come from, and why
they congregate here year after year is unknown. But in doing so they
have created a unique tourism experience – swimming with whales. The
first whales to arrive this year were spotted last week, and tourists
are rushing to encounter these amazing visitors.
“This is the only permitted swim with whales industry in the world,”
said CRC Reef researcher Dr Alastair Birtles, from James Cook
University. “The whales are naturally curious, and will come up to boats
and swimmers to get a better look. They have been sighted in Reef waters
from March to October although most sightings are in June and July. Then
they vanish into the blue, so any information we can get about them
while they’re here will help us to understand them better.”
Dr Birtles and his team have been researching the dwarf minke whales for
nine years, and have developed a Code of Practice for swimming with
whales in co-operation with the tourism industry. They are also
encouraging tourists to help with their research. Anyone who sees a
dwarf minke whale can take part by filling in the new whale sighting
sheet, which can be downloaded from the CRC Reef website,
www.reef.crc.org.au .
“We have found over the last nine years that individual whales, which we
can identify by their unique colour patterns, return to the same sites
again and again. Dwarf minke whales occur right around the southern
oceans, but this is the only place in the world they are known to gather
year after year,” Dr Birtles said.
“We are still not sure why they come here, and information collected by
the public could help to solve that mystery. One hypothesis is that the
Great Barrier Reef is a courtship area, and they come here to mate,” he
said. “This is one reason why it is critically important to manage the
swim-with-whale tourism industry sustainably, and ensure that there are
no negative impacts on the whales.”
A pre-season workshop run by the Minke Whale Project for the tourism
industry last week attracted high attendance. Nine vessels have permits
for swim-with-whale interactions on the Great Barrier Reef. Anyone
coming into contact with whales must follow the Code of Practice. This
includes never swimming closer than 30 metres to a whale, not touching a
whale should it swim close to you, and avoiding rapid movements while in
the water. More information can be found on the CRC Reef website at
http://www.reef.crc.org.au/aboutreef/wildlife/minkewhale.html .
The dwarf minke whale is one of eleven animals found on the Great
Barrier Reef that are in the running to become Queensland’s new aquatic
emblem. The public have been asked to vote for their favourite on the
Queensland Government’s website at www.getinvolved.qld.gov.au/emblem .
The Minke Whale Project is a combined initiative of James Cook
University, the Museum of Tropical Queensland and Undersea Explorer,
with support from the dive industry, CRC Reef and the Great Barrier Reef
Marine Park Authority.
Photographs and video footage available from Chloe Lucas, CRC Reef
For more information:
Dr Alastair Birtles, CRC Reef and James Cook University, tel: 07 4781
4736, email: alastair.birtles@jcu.edu.au
Chloe Lucas, CRC Reef Media Liaison, tel: 07 4729 8450 or 0408 884 521,
email: chloe.lucas@crcreef.com
Chloe Lucas
Media and Publications Officer
CRC Reef Research Centre
PO Box 772
Townsville Qld 4810
Tel: (07) 4729 8450
Mob: 0408 884 521
Email: chloe.lucas@crcreef.com
