South Australia records highest count of southern right whales since 2016, but concerns remain for future population

ABC NEWS (Australia)

It's been a bumper year for whale births off the coast of South Australia. 140 southern right whales have been counted at the head of the Great Australian Bight in the state's far west, plus more elsewhere. It's the most recorded since 2016, but concerns remain about the future of the population.

Transcript

00:01It's been a whale of a time for southern rights in the far west this year.

00:07Researchers say it's been one of the best years in recent history

00:10for southern right whale numbers in the Great Australian Bight.

00:13The numbers are very strong. At Head of Bight, Encounter Bay and Fowlers Bay,

00:17we've recorded over 170 whales.

00:20It's now been 30 years since the Great Australian Bight Marine Reserve was established.

00:25Researchers have witnessed a lot of change since the last millennium.

00:29The data collection back in the early 90s involved processing film in a sleeping bag

00:34whilst camping at the back of the sand dunes.

00:37And it's certainly progressed now to, you know, operating starlink, flying drones.

00:43While the toxic algal bloom has devastated parts of South Australia's coast this year,

00:47it hasn't impacted the far west of the state.

00:49And it's here where southern right whales congregate to give birth and to socialise.

00:54A whale named Topsy is currently at the Head of Bight,

00:56having first been spotted with a calf in 1984.

00:59There is a breeding female that has now returned 12 times to the Head of the Great Australian Bight

01:05over the 35-year research to have 12 different calves.

01:09The southern right whale was hunted to near extinction,

01:12but conservation work has helped the cetaceans to regenerate.

01:15Citizen scientist Marianne Stockham is based at Sleaford on the Eyre Peninsula,

01:19where she braves the elements to record the number of passing whales.

01:23Even after three decades of spotting, this whale watcher still gets a buzz every time.

01:28They're just amazing.

01:30And, you know, I've seen so many whales in the 30-plus years that I've been doing it.

01:34But whenever I see a whale, it's like I've seen them for the first time.

01:38Two studies published over the last few weeks detail the success of the conservation

01:43at the Gab Marine Reserve over the last 30 years,

01:46but also of concerns for the population in the years ahead.

01:49So there's been some overall concerns for the population,

01:52but definitely conservation success story in terms of the Gab Marine Park.

01:57For now, though, there's a new wave of southern rights coming through.

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