More whales at risk near busy ports

There are two booms under way in Australia, and scientists warn they are on a collision course. Soaring mineral exports threaten to run into increasing whale populations. The first clear evidence of where east Australian humpbacks breed has found they favour waters off rapidly expanding Queensland ports. With whale numbers climbing at about 10 per cent each year, scientists predict increased ship strikes as more mothers and calves move inshore. Advertisement: Story continues below And the federal government is expected to release today new offshore oil and gas exploration areas in key blue whale habitat, sparking a contest over these marine giants as well. Despite becoming a common sight off Australia's east coast, humpbacks have remained largely hidden from view in critical breeding grounds off the Great Barrier Reef. Using Coastwatch aerial sightings data and global humpback habitat as models, the University of Queensland's Joshua Smith found two hot spots: east of Mackay, and in the Capricorn and Bunker island groups off Gladstone. Both ports are among at least seven on the Queensland coast slated for expansion. Dredging at Gladstone Harbour for a major gas terminal on Curtis Island has drawn the attention of UNESCO's World Heritage Committee. It will decide in weeks whether urban and industrial expansion endangers World Heritage status. "There is likely to be a greater reliance on the coastal waters of Mackay and Gladstone as the season progresses, and mothers with newborn calves utilise these areas more," he said in the journal Marine Ecology.