Australia - September 22, 2025 Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia – underwater footage of humpback whale calves nursing in Moreton Bay, confirming the area’s importance as a vital nursery and resting ground. Griffith University researchers recorded the footage using suction camera tags that revealed repeated nursing behaviour in about half of the tagged whales. “To our knowledge, this is the first documented use of camera-equipped suction-cup tags on humpback whale calves in Australia, and one of few datasets globally that combines video, fine-scale movement, and acoustic data for humpback whale calves,” said Griffith University researcher and PhD candidate Stephanie Stack. The discovery is part of Ms Stack’s doctoral research contributing to Professor Susan Bengston Nash’s ARC Linkage project Life in the Shipping Lane, which examined the risks of shipping disturbances to humpback whales on Quandamooka Sea Country. Field work also found consistently high numbers of mother-calf pairs during the 2024 and 2025 seasons, several lone adult whales using the Bay, and for the first time, groups of multiple mother-calf pairs socialising together. “Across both seasons, we achieved 13 successful CATS camera tag deployments, with approximately half of these capturing nursing behaviour between mothers and calves,” Ms Stack said. “In total, we now have 35 hours and 37 minutes of fine-scale movement, acoustic, and video data focusing on humpback whale calves.” The research was a collaboration between Griffith University and the University of Hawaii, in partnership with Quandamooka Traditional Owners and industry partners including Port of Brisbane, DHI, Stradbroke Flyer, and Healthy Land & Water.