CRC
Reef Research Centre
MEDIA RELEASE
2 June 2004
MINKE
MAGIC
Every
year, mysterious dwarf minke whales
emerge from the depths to gather
together on the Great Barrier Reef.
Where they come from, and why they
congregate here year after year is
unknown. But in doing so they have
created a unique tourism experience –
swimming with whales. The first whales
to arrive this year were spotted last
week, and tourists are rushing to
encounter these amazing visitors.
“This is the only permitted swim with
whales industry in the world,” said CRC
Reef researcher Dr Alastair Birtles,
from James Cook University. “The whales
are naturally curious, and will come up
to boats and swimmers to get a better
look. They have been sighted in Reef
waters from March to October although
most sightings are in June and July.
Then they vanish into the blue, so any
information we can get about them while
they’re here will help us to understand
them better.”
Dr Birtles and his team have been
researching the dwarf minke whales for
nine years, and have developed a Code of
Practice for swimming with whales in
co-operation with the tourism industry.
They are also encouraging tourists to
help with their research. Anyone who
sees a dwarf minke whale can take part
by filling in the new whale sighting
sheet, which can be downloaded from the
CRC Reef website, www.reef.crc.org.au .
“We have found over the last nine years
that individual whales, which we can
identify by their unique colour
patterns, return to the same sites again
and again. Dwarf minke whales occur
right around the southern oceans, but
this is the only place in the world they
are known to gather year after year,” Dr
Birtles said.
“We are still not sure why they come
here, and information collected by the
public could help to solve that mystery.
One hypothesis is that the Great Barrier
Reef is a courtship area, and they come
here to mate,” he said. “This is one
reason why it is critically important to
manage the swim-with-whale tourism
industry sustainably, and ensure that
there are no negative impacts on the
whales.”
A pre-season workshop run by the Minke
Whale Project for the tourism industry
last week attracted high attendance.
Nine vessels have permits for
swim-with-whale interactions on the
Great Barrier Reef. Anyone coming into
contact with whales must follow the Code
of Practice. This includes never
swimming closer than 30 metres to a
whale, not touching a whale should it
swim close to you, and avoiding rapid
movements while in the water. More
information can be found on the CRC Reef
website at http://www.reef.crc.org.au/aboutreef/wildlife/minkewhale.html
.
The dwarf minke whale is one of eleven
animals found on the Great Barrier Reef
that are in the running to become
Queensland’s new aquatic emblem. The
public have been asked to vote for their
favourite on the Queensland Government’s
website at www.getinvolved.qld.gov.au/emblem
.
The Minke Whale Project is a combined
initiative of James Cook University, the
Museum of Tropical Queensland and
Undersea Explorer, with support from the
dive industry, CRC Reef and the Great
Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.
Photographs and video footage available
from Chloe Lucas, CRC Reef
For more information:
Dr Alastair Birtles, CRC Reef and James
Cook University, tel: 07 4781 4736,
email: alastair.birtles@jcu.edu.au
Chloe Lucas, CRC Reef Media Liaison, tel:
07 4729 8450 or 0408 884 521, email:
chloe.lucas@crcreef.com
