Whales seen breaching off Gold Coast waters in great beginning to season

PLAYFUL humpbacks are on the move, but not without making a a bit of a splash as they make their way up north. So why do whales breach?

HUMPBACK whales have been spotted splashing around and showing off their white bellies in front of excited crowds on the Gold Coast.

Yesterday, Sea World Whale Watch captured a subadult 8-year-old humpback male whale performing for punters — or was he?

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Sea World Whale Watch have had a bumper beginning to the season with an 8-year-old male showing off on the Gold Coast. Picture: Sea World Whale Watch

Sea World Whale Watch General Manager David Robertson said the males were doing everything they could to show they would make excellent mates, including breaching.

“They’re showing off, it’s a way of communication,” he said.

“‘Listen to me, I’m very big. I can make a bigger splash.’ It’s a mating ritual.”

Mr Robertson said the male pictured was a 10m long ‘teenager’ looking for a potential mate and would weigh about 25 tonnes.

Sea World Whale Watch spotted this guy showing off. Picture: Sea World Whale Watch

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While females and larger males also breach, it is usually the younger males needing to display their strength that jump out of the water.

Whales are travelling up north to warmer waters to mate and calve on the Great Barrier Reef. In a few months, they will later swim back down south.

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Mr Robertson said the season had been great so far, with multiple sightings each day.

“We’re seeing five or six easily,” he said.

“The skipper and the crew have a sixth sense, and the skipper has been doing it a long time. He has a 100 per cent record, it’s unbeaten.”