Whale Watching In The Gold Coast

Annually between the months of April and November, The Gold Coast becomes the playplace for humpback whales. The migration of these animals from the Antarctic waters, is a place for mating and giving birth. This 10000Km migration brings about thousands of visitors to the Gold Coast.

The migration timing can vary from year to year based mostly on the water temperatures. June to august is the most common time for the northern migration then again to the south from September to November. The young males usually lead the groups with the pregnant cows and calves bringing up the rear.

The humpback, at a maximum of 16 meters, is the largest whale to be found in the waters of Australia. The whalers of the 19th century placed the value on the whales oil and whalebones, which could only be harvested off of a dead whale. This caused the near extinction of many whale species. Today the value of the whales is based oon the living whales and their impact on local business, the economy and the environment.

When southern right whales and blue whales became scarce, the whalers began to target the humpback, killing almost 8300 off the east coast between 1949 and 1962 and by the time the International Whaling Commission banned humpback whaling in the Southern Hemisphere in 1963, the whalers had reduced their population to about 5% of the pre-whaling existence. Illegal whaling by the Soviet Union were responsible for killing over 48,000 humpbacks between 1947 and 1973 and today there are still rogue whalers illegally operating in Australian waters.Thankfully, today, the population has shown steady recovery of around 10 % a year and in 2006 was estimated at around 8,000

Gold Coast whale watching tours begin operation in August and guarantee 100% sighting records. Whales in Paradise offers an unforgettable whale watching cruise along with homes of the rich and famous. Gold Coast Whale Watching cruises the Broadwater and Seaway departing from the Marina Mirage which includes morning tea and an educational commentary from the skipper.

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