“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. Then he just stopped and cruised down the bay.
“It was amazing, awesome and unforgettable – it was so cool: that’s the only way to explain it, and we were lucky enough to have been able to take pictures.”
Adams shared her photos with the Bream Bay Guardians Society because of concerns about the impact of sandmining.
McCallum Bros has applied for fast-track consenting to dredge more than 8 million cubic metres of sand from the Bream Bay ocean floor.
Adams and the Bream Bay Guardians Society fear the sandmining could destroy the seabed and change the environment so that humpback whales, seals, stingrays and dolphins won’t return.
Michele Adams says she feels grateful for the humpback whale encounter, and glad she could capture it.
McCallum Bros says on its website that sand extraction can be done in an environmentally responsible manner.
An assessment of environmental effects on marine mammals found the waters around the extraction site are used by about 30 marine mammal species for foraging, resting and breeding.
However, it found each of these species, except bottlenose dolphins, had large home ranges, so the proposed sand extraction site would represent only a small part of their overall distribution.
The assessment, by SLR Consulting, recommends McCallum Bros take further measures to reduce underwater noise, ship strike, marine debris and entanglement, with a management plan resulting in either a low impact on, or an improvement to, marine mammals.
An expert consenting panel will consider the sandmining application before a final decision is made about its fast-track consent.
Denise Piper is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on health and business. She has more than 20 years in journalism and is passionate about covering stories that make a difference.