Warrnambool's whale-watching season ends with low numbers

Data from the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action revealed there were just 22 Southern Right Whale sightings recorded in the south-west city since the season began in June.

The final sighting was on August 7. Some whales had since been seen near Wye River and Cape Nelson, typical for the end of the season when they moved through before heading back to feeding grounds.

While just one cow-calf pair was recorded for Victoria, the duo spent two to three weeks in Portland before disappearing on August 15.

DEECA senior scientist of wildlife ecology Kasey Stamation told The Standard a lack of calves meant any whales passing through would not stay for long.

She said it was not uncommon to have years with no calves or low numbers of sightings as the population remained extremely small with less than 300 individuals.

But with three cow-calf pairs born on the NSW coast this season, which were part of the same eastern population, Ms Stamation said there was hope and DEECA would soon begin analysing its recent findings.

"We are extremely grateful to the community who contribute their sightings and photos to our research and monitoring program," she said.

"As well as this data, we also conduct aerial surveys across the Victorian coast and drone surveys to monitor the health of cow-calf pairs.

"Now that the season is over we will be doing some more analysis of the data we have collected over the years and will report any significant findings back to the community."

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