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20 December, 2024
Rare whale on the Reef
A RARE sighting of an elusive whale has wowed guests and crew aboard Port Douglas-based dive and snorkel vessel Silversonic.
They spotted an Omura’s whale while enroute to Agincourt Reef on Monday last week.
The first recorded sighting of an Omura’s whale on the Great Barrier Reef was confirmed by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority in December, 2016.
The whale, estimated to be 12m in length, was sighted near Undine Cay at 9.20am. Skipper Shane Down stopped the vessel and was able to identify the whale as lucky passengers were able to catch a glimpse of it.
“I saw the whale after seeing the blow and there was a commotion on the surface,” he said.
“Approximately 200 metres away, we could see a big white patch under water and I believe it was the pleats of the throat stretched out after taking a big gulp of food.
“It also turned around and headed back to the south-east, then back around to the west – I’m guessing to get some more food as they lunge feed.”
Despite the rare, confirmed sightings, Mr Down has recorded these whales for many years and said it was great to see a rare whale in the region’s waters, usually seen between November and February.
Quicksilver Group environment and compliance manager and cetacean expert Phil Coulthard said it was unusual to see whales during the Far North’s summer “as we associate the humpbacks and minke whales with the cooler months, so it’s certainly a treat to see an Omura’s whale at this time of year”.
The Omura’s whale is one of the smallest members of the rorqual whales and very little is known about the species.
Scientists only identified the Omura’s as a species in its own right in 2003. At first they were thought to be a smaller ‘dwarf’ or ‘pygmy’ form of Bryde’s whale or possibly a dwarf fin whale due to their similar patterns of makings. They may in fact be more closely related to their much larger relative, the blue whale.
Omura’s whales are found in the Indo-Pacific and the Atlantic Ocean, primarily in shelf waters with the majority of recordings in the tropics.
The Omura’s whale (Balaenoptera omurai) common name is in recognition of Japanese cetologist Hdieo Omura.
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