Whales Turn up in Kimberley waters

    PRESS RELEASE

The first humpback whales for 2010 have been spotted in Kimberley Waters.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PR Log (Press Release) – May 28, 2010 – Humpback whales have turned up in Kimberley waters a week earlier than last year.  Gregg Davey from Kimberley Kayak Fishing Tours (http://kimberleykayakfishing.com.au/) spotted the first pod of 3 juvenile whales near Talboys Rock, off Manari on the Kimberley coast on Monday the 24th of May 2010.  This year's sighting is a week earlier than the first reported whale sighting for 2009, which occurred on the 31st of May.  

Juveniles form the advance guard for the migrating whale population, which is estimated at approximately 22,000 individuals. The Breeding Group D population of Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) migrate from the frigid waters of the Antarctic to the warm tropical waters of the Kimberley coast to give birth.  The calving grounds extend from just south of Broome to north of Camden Sound, which will soon become the Kimberley's first inshore marine park.

The whale sightings herald the beginning of the Kimberley's whale watching season.  Broome will also host the second Kimberley Whale Festival, which will be held in Broome from the 15th to the 18th of July 2010.  As part of the festival, "Kimberley Whale Watching", a Broome based research group, is offering a framed whale photo for the first photo taken of a humpback whale in Kimberley waters in 2010.

Send your photo with time, date and location to kimberleywhales@bigpond.com.

Kimberley Whale Watching -  http://www.kimberleywhales.com.au
Kimberley Whale Festival - http://www.kimberleywhalefestival.blogspot.com
Whale Images - http://www.kimberleystockphotos.com.au
Whale Images - http://www.kimberleymedia.com.au

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Kimberley Whale Watching conducts research and charters between Broome and Camden Sound on Western Australia's Kimberley coast.

Whale sighting in January

A Broome local has reported a sighting of two whales in the Kimberley's Koolan Island channel (Yampi Sound) today.  As the majority of the whales head south for the Australian summer, this sighting indicates that the whales have either stayed in the Kimberley or returned from elsewhere.  We are awaiting further confirmation.

Camden Sound to be Declared a Marine Park

In October last year, the Western Australian Minister for the Environment, Donna Faragher, declared that Camden Sound, on the mid north Kimberley coast and the maternity ward and nursery for the Group lV population of Humpback Whales, is to be declared a Marine Park in 2010.  The boundaries are yet to be detemined.

Kimberley Whale Festival 2010

The Kimberley Whale Festival 2010 promises to be even bigger and better. Following the success of the inaugural festival, we're holding the 2010 festival over the weekend of the 17th and 18th of July.
This year's exciting events include whale watching cruises and survey flights, a Short Film Festival,  human whale on Cable Beach, Childrens' art competition and Adults' art exhbition, Fish Cake Cookoff and Sunday session music at Matso's Broome Brewery.

Check out the whale festival website.

Kimberley Coast

Join us in 2010 on our "Whale & Reef" expedition cruises, and discover the wonderful marine life of the Kimberley coast.  Visiting reefs almost untouched by man, you'll discover Blue Spotted Reef rays, the magnificent Superb Sea Anemone, cushion stars, octopi, featherstars, molluscs and a plethora of hard and soft corals.   You may even discover something new!

With over 2,815 charted islands, the Kimberley coast has over 13,000km of coastline.

Contact us for further information.

Kimberley Whale Watching's 2010 "Whale and Reef" Research Cruises

Kimberley Whale Watching is offering an exciting opportunity to join us in 2010 on one of five extended "Whale & Reef" research expeditions, on The Great Escape Charter Company's vessel "MV Kimberley Escape".  Join us on one of five 7 or 8 days trips, between the 24th July and the 3rd of September 2010. 

Research expeditions will be limited to no more than 12 passengers, and will provide the opportunity to participate in photographing and recording whale numbers and behaviour, and to explore the remote Kimberley offshore islands and reefs. 

The 2010 trips will cover the area between Broome and Camden Sound, including The Lacepede Islands, Adele Island, Montgomery Reef (Australia's largest inshore reef), the iconic Horizontal Waterfalls, Wildcat Reef, Augustus Island and various places of interest not visited by many other charter boats.  You will enjoy swims in freshwater pools, reef walks, and learn about the wildlife of the Kimberley coast with local naturalists, whilst enjoying sumptuous cuisine and comfortable accommodation.

Participants will be making a valuable contribution toward our understanding of the way that the humpbacks are using the Kimberley coast.

We are currently taking enquiries.  Please email us for further information.

Kimberley Whale Watching