A new company announced in Busselton today will spearhead more financial support for scientific research into the whale
migration through Geographe Bay in Western Australia’s South West.
Geographe Marine Research, a non for profit company and a CSIRO Approved Research Institute, aims to attract corporate
sponsorship and public donations to support targeted research projects.
Chair Frank Eckler said the company would also develop liaisons with other whale research groups in Australia and
overseas.
Mr Eckler said it was imperative to have the statistics and scientific evidence to support improved habitat protection
as whales moved along Western Australia’s coast.
“It’s also vitally important we become more proactive and professional in providing better support mechanisms for
research,” he said.
Research monitoring has been held annually from a land base at Point Picquet in Geographe Bay since 2004 by trained
local volunteers and small organisations.
Mr Eckler said new research technologies developed in recent years had become more complex and expensive, growing beyond
the capability of volunteer groups to finance.
“That inability to raise adequate funding is a major barrier in benefiting from the research efforts made to date and
enabling future scientific research,” Mr Eckler said.
Company director Chris Burton said local volunteers and researchers associated with Geographe Marine Research had spent
about 20,000 hours since 2004 collecting and analysing observation data, together with photo and video identification.
Mr Burton has been a Director of Western Whale Research for 18 years, taking a lead role in organising local volunteer
whale watchers, data collection and analysis.
“I’ve joined Geographe Marine Research from the beginning as I see the company as the way forward in harnessing
resources to enable more studies and protection for whales along the A coast. A research team is already in place in
Perth that it’s supporting,” Mr Burton said.
“Geographe Bay now has four baleen whale species passing through every year including Blue, Southern Right, Humpback and
Minke whales during their southern migration season from July through to December.
“Our monitoring indicates whale numbers along our South West coast are recovering since whale hunting days. Humpbacks
have risen from around 700 in 2005 to 3500 spotted last year. Blues and Southern Right numbers are variable, ranging
from 100 to 300 for Blues and Geographe Marine Research Ltd a few Southern Rights in early monitoring years to around 30
in recent years. Minke whales are also passing through, but we are still assessing their numbers.”
Mr Burton said there were still many answers required about the migratory patterns of whales, the impact of climate
change on their populations, movements and food sources in the coming years.
“Currently, for instance, there is an urgent need to study the implications of human interference on Southern Right
whales, especially mother calf pairs, particularly in the Geographe Bay, Smiths Beach, Yallingup and Injidup areas,” Mr
Burton said.
“In recent years Southern Rights have been migrating further north along our coast as far as Perth, with the mothers
resting with their young in small bays en route. Unfortunately, their presence attracts recreational vessels that
disturb them and they are forced to move on. Little is known about the impact this disturbance has on the survival rate
of the young calves,” he said.Mother and calf pass by the Geographe Bay monitoring point at Point Picquet(photo credit Ian Wiese)
Geographe Marine Research has ATO Deductible Gift Recipient status. Public donations can be made via the company website
at www.marineresearch.org.au