White whale sighting off coast

Migaloo the albino whale.

Greer Atkinson

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Migaloo off the East Coast 2009

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THE all-white humpback whale, Migaloo, first seen in 1991, has been seen off the coast at Byron Bay.

Migaloo was seen about 3pm on Monday, just north of The Pass, travelling south with a pod of five other whales, Cape Byron Marine Park manager Andrew Page said.

Mr Page said Migaloo was first sighted by Rob Dalton from Byron Bay Dive Centre, with the sighting confirmed by a marine park ranger.

He said the pod was travelling reasonably fast towards Cape Byron.

“Migaloo is the only recorded all-white humpback whale in the world,” he said.

“He is an adult male and was called Migaloo as this is the name Aboriginal people from the Hervey Bay area use to describe a white person.”

Mr Page said Migaloo would attract a lot of attention on his way south and urged people to maintain a safe distance to allow him to pass peacefully.

“September/October is the peak time for the southern migration of humpbacks in the local area, with over half of the pods entering the bay in this period containing calves,” he said.