Join the Garigal people of the Northern Beaches as they welcome whales to ocean country on 3 June.
The migration of the humpbacks is a significant event for the Garigal people of the Northern Beaches, as the whale is their totem and a symbol of their culture. The environmental organization Living Ocean is proud to facilitate the welcome to ocean country to appreciate this natural spectacle.
The celebration will feature a smoking ceremony performed by a Garigal elder, followed by traditional whale songs played on the didgeridoo. The local community will then be invited to call out to the whales by squeaking their feet on the sands of Avalon Beach.
This ceremony will mark the beginning of Living Ocean’s whales and climate research programme. The programme will cover humpback behavioural research from Pittwater, humpback non-invasive GPS tagging from Eden, and a humpback Antarctic research project in partnership with Southern Sea Ventures on board the Polar Pioneer. This research programme is critical in filling significant data gaps on shifting migratory patterns due to climate change.
Climate change affects the world’s oceans in many ways, including warming and acidification, which puts krill, the humpbacks’ primary food source, under increasing threat. The location of krill concentrations on the migration route also changes because of shifts in ocean currents, adding to the difficulty humpbacks find food during their long migrations. As a result, Living Ocean is already observing reduced body weight in humpbacks migrating north from their feeding grounds at the Antarctic shelf.
But it’s not just the humpbacks that are under threat. As krill is the foundation of the entire marine food chain, the impact of climate change on krill is felt throughout the ecosystem.
Living Ocean vice president David Cousins says: “While humpback populations have dramatically rebounded since the cessation of whaling, climate change could now result in their ultimate extinction.”
Large whales absorb 33 tons of carbon dioxide and provide essential nutrients to the ocean, promoting the growth of phytoplankton. A one per cent increase in phytoplankton levels due to whales could absorb hundreds of millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide, equivalent to planting two billion trees.
Living Ocean is a not-for-profit organisation that operates as a centre for marine studies, focusing on marine animal behaviour, macro and microplastics, and marine ecological processes. They promote awareness of the human impact on the ocean through research, education, creative activation, and supporting others who sustain ocean health and integrity.
Living Ocean invites everyone to welcome the Southern Hemisphere’s great whales to ocean country. “It will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and by attending, you will be supporting critical research that could help protect whales from extinction,” David says.
When: Saturday 3 June, from 7:30am
Where: Avalon Surf Club, 558 Barrenjoey Road, Avalon Beach.