GEORGIA Bisset is no stranger to the waves of Phillip Island onboard Wildlife Coast Cruises, nor the beauty of the majestic whales, cheeky seals and curious dolphins.
“I’m heading into my sixth whale season,” Wildlife Coast Cruises environmental officer Georgia said noting she completed a Bachelor of Environmental Science and Wildlife Conservation Biology, which brought her to Phillip Island.
“It’s incredibly unique how often we are able to get out on the water, and that frequency is reflected in the data we can collect, what we’re able to see and share. There is so much about whales and marine life that we don’t know, and we’re continuously discovering new things.”
Of particular excitement for Georgia is the citizen science program run onboard.
“It’s been running for a couple of years, and we’ve got 10 dedicated citizen science photographers. For each tour we have one of the photographers come on board and their role is to take an image of the underside of the whale’s tail – the fluke.
“Since bringing them onboard we’ve been able to increase the amount of whale ID shots. Last year we added 150 individuals to the catalogue, which was amazing! That’s 150 individuals that we can monitor and track.”
Similar to human fingerprints, each whale’s fluke is unique – its scars, pigmentation and shape all serve as identifiers.
“This week we had a notification that one of the whales we catalogued in 2023 off Pyramid Rock, was seen again on June 15 this year around the Island,” she said.
“It’s really exciting when we do get a match.
“Understanding what areas they’re visiting regularly, how far they’re travelling, what time of year they’re moving, whether they’ve got a calf – it all adds to the bigger picture.”
Another notable re-sighting was of a whale passing through Wilsons Prom on its return to Antarctica in September 2021 – then seen again last October.
“We’re in such a unique position. The fact that we’re out there seven days a week for a couple of months allows us to collect all this information and then share it with researchers and universities.”
And it’s not just years between sightings. One whale was identified in Merimbula last October and spotted a week later at Wilsons Prom.
“It gives you an idea of the speed of the whale as well. The more data we collect, it gives us a better understanding of them.”
Visitors can also get involved, with QR codes scattered around the boats enabling passengers to share photos and contribute to the research.
“Phillip Island in general is just amazing – you’ve got seals, penguins, migratory whales,” Georgia said.
“We were visited by orcas last week on the boat – it was beautiful. We had three females and two calves, and we were able to travel with them for an hour. They’re probably the biggest surprise we get on the water because they don’t have a month – they’re really nomadic.”
In the first two and a half weeks of the season, visitors have been spoilt with humpback, southern right whales and orcas, with whales spotted on 29 out of 30 tours.
“It’s pretty incredible to have all three in our first two and a half weeks – we’ve been
absolutely spoilt and we’ve still got five and a half weeks to go.
“We hadn’t seen southern right whales in two years off the boat – there are around 300 individuals in the eastern population, and the chances of seeing them are not very high.
“But that day was amazing. It hung around Friday through to Sunday and we got some amazing ID shots of the whale as well.”
Southern right whales are identified by the distinctive callosity patterns on their heads, and monitoring them is vital due to their endangered status.
“It’s obviously important to know their movements and what they’re doing, where they’re visiting – areas we need to protect.”
As of Thursday last week, 111 marine mammals had already been spotted this season – compared to 293 total last year.
“With five weeks to go we’re expecting the numbers to be really, really good,” Georgia said.
Those heading along to spot a whale or two can jump onto the Wildlife Whales App – developed by Wildlife Coast Cruises, it’s a great alternative if you’re unable to head out on a cruise with live whale sightings and historic data.
Wildlife Coast Cruises will also host a special Dolphin and Whale Cruise on Thursday, July 10 at 9am, featuring special guests Dr Jodi Edwards, Dr Chels Marshall, Dr Wally Franklin and Uncle Steve Ulula Parker. For more information head to wildlifecoastcruises.com.au/dw-cruise-special-guests.
As for the best part of Georgia’s job?
“Being able to head out and not know what you’re going to see each day is really exciting!”