Abstract

In 1987, after 25 years' protection from whaling operations, the portion of the Area V (130° E–170° W) humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae stock which migrates along the east Australian coast was estimated to number approximately 1100 compared with fewer than 500 estimated for the whole of Area V at the end of whaling. The best estimate of the annual rate of increase is 10% with a 95% confidence interval of between 6% and 13%. Those estimates were calculated from data obtained during observations from headlands at latitude 27° S between 1981 and 1987. Reports from other areas confirm that sheltered waters of the Great Barrier Reef in the vicinity of latitude 20°S are an important calving ground for this stock, although some humpback whales calve at higher latitudes in east Australian waters.

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