HUNTER whale watchers could help scientists get to know the aquatic giants passing the region's coast a bit better under a new process, researchers hope.
Lead researcher Dr Trish Franklin says the Southern Cross University process, which involves compiling photographic images, uses artificial intelligence to match the markings.
The findings were published in the Journal of Cetacean Management and Research, and it is expecting to manage potential mistaken identity of the mammals.
"In this study we investigated and examined the long-term stability and/or changes in natural marks from a sample of 79 individual humpback whales, over timespans ranging from two to 21 years," Dr Franklin said. "The results from systematic long-term photo-identification of Southern Hemisphere humpback whales in Hervey Bay, using an innovative matching system, show how ventral-tail flukes, dorsal-fin shapes and lateral body marks can be used together as 'complementary' tags in the photo-identification process."
The research is part of The Oceania Project, in which more than 700 individual whales have been photographed and catalogued over 25 years on Queensland's south-east coast.
"These advanced techniques could replace hundreds or thousands of hours of visual curation with just a few automated hours of computation," Dr Franklin said
Researches hope that whale watchers can also help use the technology.
"This will provide long-term data for the monitoring and on-going study of the eastern Australian humpback whale population as it faces severe impacts from climate change."
