But already in 2021 whale sightings are being reported up and down the East Coast, with whale season seeming to have kicked off early.

Local wildlife tour companies are especially excited at reports of potential sightings of Migaloo, the famous albino humpback, off the Victorian Coast in recent weeks, headed this way.

With whale numbers increasing every year, local tour company Dolphin Watch Cruises has even gone to the lengths of adding another 100-passenger specialised whale cruising vessel "Explorer II" to their fleet, in the hopes of getting even more domestic tourists out to meet these gentle giants this year.

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"We've been cruising the sheltered waters of Jervis Bay for 31 years, and we have never seen so many whales in all those years as we do now," said Jet Jones, one of the managers of Dolphin Watch Cruises Jervis Bay.

"In the early days we'd be lucky to see a dozen humpbacks a year, now we often see that amount and more every day.

"With all the early whale sightings in the area already, we're hoping plenty of visitors are keen to go and see them with us this year."

The timing of an early "bumper" whale season is perfect to help the local South Coast economy bounce back after being decimated by both bushfires and COVID-19 in recent years.

Similarly, the humpback whale population has bounced back from near extinction to the record numbers being seen today.

The humpback whale population on the Australian East Coast are now estimated in the tens of thousands, after reaching a low of just over 100 individuals in the early 1960s.

To book a whale cruise call Dolphin Watch Cruises on 44416311 or head to dolphinwatch.com.au to book online.

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