Kiwis can expect to see more whales in New Zealand waters as the population recovers from whaling and passes by during annual migrations, a marine biologist says.
Recent sightings have included a southern right whale in Wellington Harbour and another near Dunedin, and Auckland University marine biologist Rochelle Constantine says it is part of their population recovery.
"We've got an increasing trend of sighting them ... at the moment we have migrating humpback whales so they're going past mainland New Zealand on their northern migration to their breeding ground," Dr Constantine said.
"They've spent the summer feeding down in Antarctica ... those whales are mostly going to either New Caledonia and some to east Australia - so we see a lot of them at this time."
Dr Constantine said there is now a larger population of southern right whales centred around the sub-Antarctic islands, particularly the Auckland Islands, with "a few hundred of them jammed in there".
Genetic testing had shown that whales seen near the New Zealand mainland do travel between the two areas.
"Every three years or so we sort of get this pulse of them coming around mainland New Zealand ... they know mainland New Zealand and they'll move between the two places."
With sightings becoming more regular, Dr Constantine said the public should be aware that while southern right whales can be friendly, they are easily injured by careless boaties.
"I think these are going to become increasingly more normal events in our lives ... we have to be really careful around them," she said.
"We've had a lot of conversation around Matariki the Wellington whale and threats to it, and actually on the biggest threats to it were people going to close to it in their boat.
"These whales are very gregarious and they're not worried about people coming close, but you can actually hit them in your boat.
"I think there's a sort of thing where we're always excited about seeing whales but we also have to be really careful because they're always just busy doing their thing.
"By law you're not allowed closer than 50m to a whale, and if it's a mother with a calf, it's 200m - so it's quite a distance.
"If you're ever anywhere near them, either in the water or on the water, just to give them space - they'll come to you if they want to."
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