Whale encounter off Nelson
A fishing trip turned into an unforgettable experience for a Nelson man when humpback whales put on a spectacular show.
‘‘We didn’t have to go down to Kaikoura to see the whales,’’ Peter Hamilton said.
‘‘We were fishing way out in the middle of Tasman Bay, and we were coming back when we saw them (a humpback whale and her calf).’’
At first he and his fishing companion thought they were dolphins, but quickly realised they were far too big for that. The mother humpback breached several times, heaving her massive body almost completely out of the water.
The Department of Conservation and Project Jonah identified the whales from Hamilton’s photographs as humpbacks.
Hamilton said he was meant to head out of Nelson at 3pm, but made himself over an hour late staying to watch the whales breaching.
‘‘They were right in close, only about one kilometre away from the lighthouse on the Boulder Bank.
‘‘I presume they came in for the krill that’s been in the bay recently,’’ Hamilton said.
The last time whales were seen in Tasman Bay was in December 2016.
The 2016 sighting also came after large amounts of krill had been in the area, like the the masses washed up on Tahunanui Beach on Monday.
Humpback whales migrate from warm tropical regions in the Pacific, where they spend the winter breeding and calving, down to their summer feeding grounds in the Antarctic.
It is recommended that boaties keep a safe distance from whales, especially whales with calves.
DOC guidelines are to travel ‘‘no faster than idle or ‘no wake’ speed’’ within 300 metres of marine mammals, not to circle or obstruct them, and not to cut through a pod.
Keep at least 50m away from whales, and 200m away from whales with a calf.