Rare whale of a time at Port Douglas
A POD of rare whales has excited a boatload of tourists by surfacing right in front of them at the outer Reef.
The group of five endangered sei, or baleen whales, were photographed by tourists aboard a Quicksilver Cruises vessel at Agincourt Reef on Monday afternoon.
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One of the gigantic filter feeders emerged in full view of the boat, spending several minutes swimming around it, before diving away.
Quicksilver marine biologist Doug Baird estimated the whales were up to 18m long.
The same vessel spotted one of the whales – one of the least studied and understood of the great whales – at Agincourt Reef two years ago.
"Sei whales are among the more elusive of the large whales and are rarely seen inshore, preferring the deeper oceans," Mr Baird said.
"They are one of the fastest whales with bursts of speed up to 55km/h.
"The sei whale is very similar in appearance to the fin and Brydes whales, being long, streamlined and having a V-shaped head which is flat on top."
Populations of sei whales were dramatically reduced by whalers from the 1950s to 1970s, with international protection afforded in 1977.
While previous populations were estimated around 100,000, there is no accepted estimate for the current population.
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority manager of species conservation Dr Mark Read described the sighting as very rare.
"At this time of year, we wouldn't consider whales like sei whales to be more likely to be in the cooler waters feeding during the cold water summer," Dr Read said.
"Sei whales are quite renowned for being a species that does turn up in the tropics, so maybe this is just an animal that is just moving around.
"When you think about whales, really you would think about the more iconic species like blue whales," Mr Read said.
"We actually know more about blue whales than we know about sei whales."
Boats cannot go any closer than 100m from a whale and not any closer than 300m if three or more boats are close to the marine mammal.
Boaties who do not keep their distance can be fined up to $12,000, with a number of regulations put in place to protect the creatures.
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Excited: Tourists aboard the Quicksilver Cruises vessel watch in awe as a sei whale cavorts in waters at Agincourt Reef on Monday afternoon and (below) a sketch of a sei whale. Picture: Shane Down, Quicksilver Cruises
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