Whales and Dolphins

There was a time, in the mid-19^th century, when Hobart residents living along the banks of the Derwent River complained of being kept awake by the sounds of whales. Today the mere report of a sighting sends a thrill of excitement through the community.

During June and July, humpback and southern right whales travel along the east and west coasts of Tasmania towards their breeding grounds in warmer northern waters and can sometimes be seen from Bruny Island and other coastal areas around Freycinet National Park. They return to their southern summer feeding grounds in October and November.

Bottle-nosed dolphins and baleen, humpback and southern right whales are the cetaceans you are most likely to spot in the Derwent River and on Tasmania’s east coast. Both southern right whales and humpbacks are still considered endangered in Tasmanian waters.

At the peak of the whaling boom, there were enough whales migrating through Tasmanian waters to support 45 whaling stations, nine of which were in or around Hobart. So great were the numbers of massive southern right whales in the Derwent that it was considered dangerous to cross the estuary in small boats.

The ravages of whaling drove many species to the edge of extinction. Today, the southern right whale is among the rarest of whales, but since the end of commercial whaling its numbers have begun to increase and whale sightings in Tasmanian waters are becoming more common.

If you catch sight of a whale.