A Queensland tourism operator says visitor numbers are finally back to pre-COVID levels as the whale season wraps up for another year.
As Queensland's whale watching season draws to a close, tour operators have lauded a return to pre-COVID visitor numbers as the last giant "stragglers" make their way down the east coast.
An estimated 40,000 humpback whales migrate from Antarctica to breeding grounds in the Whitsundays between mid-June and October each year.
In one of Queensland's best-known regions for whale watching, Hervey Bay, more than 50,000 boat passengers got up close and personal with the giants of the sea.
"We are happy to see those numbers come back to pre-pandemic levels," tour operator Peter Lynch said.
"We are still only carrying just over 50 per cent of our capacity.
"With the vessels that were operating this season and the tours on offer, there was availability of 107,000 seats."
Season highlights
This season saw the return of international travellers, some of whom witnessed several memorable moments.
"One of the highlights was the visit of false killer whales," Mr Lynch said.
"We had two different occasions where a large pod came into the bay.
"Another interesting thing is we noted that whales stayed longer, and that our water temperatures in the bay were actually lower than the years before."
Citizen scientists making waves
With tourist numbers on the rise again, researchers are excited by an influx of participants in a citizen science project documenting whale sightings.
Marine scientist Wally Franklin said the number of sightseers in Hervey Bay registering their whale tail or fluke photos in a database called 'Happy Whale' had skyrocketed.
"That's rapidly building up the amount of information available to us to be able to check in with what's been going on with the whales," Dr Franklin said.
Included in this year's database were two frequent humpback visitors that have been returning to Hervey Bay waters for decades.
"One was a whale called Blue Bell, which was photographed earlier in the season by Captain Phil House … his photograph brought the re-sight history of that whale up to 25 years," Dr Franklin said.
"Then shortly after that, we photographed a whale called Phantom that also brought the re-sighting of that whale up to 25 years."
Dr Franklin said the documentation would be invaluable as scientists monitored the long-term environmental impacts on the humpback population.
"Climate change could well affect their breeding range, foraging strategies in Antarctica and even their migratory movements," he said.
"All of this photography that we're collecting is going to help us keep a close eye on exactly what is occurring."
Turtle season underway
As one chapter ends, another begins, and the departing whales have made way for turtle nesting season.
In southern Queensland, nesting usually occurs between November and January, but green sea turtles have already begun arriving on Lady Musgrave Island.
"Three days ago, one of our marine biologists took a couple of guests out for a turtle tour and we had our first greens of the season come up and nest," tour operator Brett Lakey said.
"From about Christmas time when they start hatching … for the few months after that, it's like a turtle highway.
"Generally, we average 100 to 150 turtles nesting a night."
Mr Lakey said he hoped a third consecutive La Niña weather pattern would not affect nesting too severely.
"This year has been the most unstable weather patterns we've seen. We cancelled a hell of a lot of tours for the weather," he said.
"Fingers crossed we can have a great run through the summer period."
