Ocean life
Boat strikes injure more humpbacks on Australia’s east coast
Images shared by WWF Australia show deep propeller cuts on humpback adults and calves, as the population grows 60 years after whaling ended.
Reported by The Guardian · · 1 min read
Growing numbers of humpback whales migrating along Australia’s east coast are being hurt by boats. Images gathered by WWF Australia and shared with the Guardian show adults and juveniles with deep cuts, gouges and missing pieces of tail, which experts link to boat and propeller strikes. They say the problem is growing as the population recovers, about 60 years after whaling was banned, and that the migrating whales often cannot get out of the way of a collision.
One photograph, taken last month in Hervey Bay in Queensland, shows fresh, broad cuts across the back of a calf. Many mothers choose the bay as a place to rest and shelter their calves on the long migration south to Antarctica. Another image shows serious injuries along the spine of a calf.
Isabel Taylor, a senior naturalist with the Pacific Whale Foundation’s whale-watching tours, saw the injured calf last month. Two mothers with calves came to the surface that day. One pair was lively, but the other mother and calf were more reserved, and the slash marks of a boat propeller were clearly visible on the calf’s back.
Conservationists say the images are a warning that more whales sharing busy coastal waters with boats will mean more collisions unless the risk is taken seriously.
