'Special' moment for researchers as rare fin whales photographed
Two separate sightings of rare fin whales has delighted researchers and ocean lovers alike on Western Australia's South West coast.
Drone pilots have photographed two separate whales in Geographe Bay, 220 kilometres south of Perth.
Fin whale numbers are still recovering from the impacts of the whaling industry, which hunted the species to near extinction in the 20th century, killing about 700,000 fin whales.
Fin whales can live to about 70 or 80 years old when left alone, and they have just one calf at a time — making repopulating the dwindling numbers a slow process.
They are second only to blue whales in length, with slender bodies that help them glide through the water at high speed, and tend to remain below the surface, making sightings uncommon.
'Incredibly unusual' sighting
Geographe Marine Research chair Capri Jolliffe said one of the sightings was very close to shore.
Capri Jolliffe says the sightings in the South West's Geographe Bay were unusually close to shore for the species. (ABC News)
"It passed within 50 metres of the land-based observation platform … in really shallow water," she said.
"That one was incredibly unusual.
"And then the second one was a bit further out, close to 2 kilometres offshore."
Recorded sightings are so rare that much of what is known about fin whales comes from passive acoustic data, which is recorded by submerging hydrophones in the ocean, rather than observation.
"We basically eavesdrop on all the whales that are out there,"
Dr Jolliffe said.
"They all make different sounds that are species- and population-specific.
"It's quite an efficient and effective way of monitoring where whales go and when they're there."
Fin whale populations are still recovering from the impacts of the whaling industry, which hunted them to near extinction in the 20th century. (Supplied: Alfred-Wegener-Institut)
Drones bring a whole new perspective
In Australia, drone pilots are subject to strict regulations when it comes to how close they can fly to marine mammals.
In WA, drones must stay at least 60 metres away, while in New South Wales and Queensland, the limit is 100m. In South Australia and Tasmania, it's 300m; in Victoria, it's 500m.
Macquarie University marine scientist Vanessa Pirotta said citizen scientists who followed the rules when using their drones were making valuable contributions to ocean research.
Throughout Australia, there are legal limits on how close a drone can fly above a marine mammal. (ABC News: Berge Breiland)
"When documenting a whale that we know so little about and a threatened species at that, it supports our Australian understanding of these species," she said.
"It's incredibly special because we can share this information through the scientific communities."
Dr Pirotta said for researchers the footage was much more than "just a sighting".
"For many of us it's a wonderful sighting, and it may be indicative of potential movements that we hadn't really observed, but only acoustically documented," she said.
Vanessa Pirotta says excitement over the footage is quickly spreading throughout the marine research community. (ABC News)
Drone pilot and South West local Scott Baxter had taken his family out for a coastal drive on Monday afternoon when he spotted a spray of water out on the horizon.
He said he initially thought he was capturing footage of a different species.
"As I was filming it, the whole time I just thought it was a small blue whale," Mr Baxter said.
"I had no idea that the fin whales existed in Geograph Bay.
"It's pretty special … I was in the right place at the right time."
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