Humpback survey indicates growing population
A recent humpback whale count indicates a recovery in the population of animals migrating along the mid-north coast of New South Wales.
In five hours last Saturday, 109 humpbacks were spotted off Tacking Point near Port Macquarie.
Sue Phillips from the local National Parks office says that is a 10 per cent increase on last year.
She says there was also a rare sighting of a southern right whale.
"It's not often enough we see the southern right whales," she said.
"Last year in the whole whale season we only had six sightings of them and to have one of the morning that we were doing the whale count was just great and also that it stayed for so long."
Ms Phillips says while the sighting of a rare southern right whale was a highlight, the humpback numbers confirm a population in recovery.
"Recent DNA testing has shown that after the whaling years it seems as if the humpback whale population in eastern Australia got down to around about 115 individuals," she said.
"Now we think it's back up over the 10,000 mark."