Source: Radio New Zealand
A humpback whale breaches in Bream bay just 50 metres from Michele Adams’ boat. Supplied/Michele Adams
Friends fishing in Northland’s Bream Bay were treated to a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle, when a huge humpback whale leapt from the sea just 50 metres from their boat.
Michele Adams, her husband and another couple were returning from a morning’s fishing trip at the Hen and Chicken Islands last Sunday, when they saw the water churning.
They pulled in their lines and were motoring closer to investigate, when the whale burst from the sea in a mighty leap.
“He was enormous, at least twice the size of the boat,” she said. “He was jumping out of the water and flapping his fins all over the place.
“He was showing off and putting on an amazing performance.”
The boat was seven metres, making the whale about 14 metres long – the size of an adult humpback.
“It was amazing, awesome and unforgettable,” Adams said. “It was so cool – that’s the only way to explain it.
“We were lucky enough to have been able to take pictures.”
A humpback whale breaches in Bream bay just 50 metres from Michele Adams’ boat. Supplied/Michele Adams
After the breaching display, the whale cruised slowly away down Bream Bay.
Adams, who had a home at Langs Beach, said she had visited Bream Bay for more than 40 years.
While dolphins and smaller whales were often seen in the bay, this was the first time she had seen a humpback.
Adams said the humpback sighting highlighted her concerns about a proposed sand-mining project off Bream Bay.
Auckland company McCallum Brothers have applied for consent, through the fast-track process, to dredge more than eight million cubic metres of sand from the Bream Bay over the next 35 years.
A decision on the consent has yet to be made.
The humpback falls back into the ocean with a mighty splash. Supplied/Michele Adams
Adams said her family was concerned sand mining could drive away the seals, large stingrays and dolphins she was used to seeing in the Bay.
“We’re all into diving and fishing,” she said. “My son’s a dive instructor, so we understand the value of the ocean and we respect it.”
She had shared the photos of her humpback encounter with the Bream Bay Guardians, a group campaigning against sand mining, to highlight what she saw as a serious threat to the bay’s natural environment.
Humpbacks were once a common sight, as they migrated past New Zealand’s east coast twice a year – northwards in winter to breed and give birth in the tropics, and southwards in October to December to feed in rich Antarctic waters.
The whaling industry of the 18-20th centuries turned humpback sightings into a rarity.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
