Darryl Stuart of Narooma Charters said the whales were extra friendly and it appeared as though they were the ones watching the whale watchers.

National Parks and Wildlife Service Discovery coordinator Mark Westwood said recent studies have shown that humpback numbers are increasing by five to 10 per cent a year during the migration season with the best guess on numbers being between 8000 and 10,000.

“We have had over 50 whales within sight for the last few weeks on most trips,” Mr Westwood said.

“They are all feeding in a belt of very cold water that has been coming north along the coast here. The water is a "soup" with jellies and all sorts of tiny creatures in it.

“The whales are hanging around feeding rather than heading straight south, and there's more coming in from the north so we have got a sort of bottleneck happening.”

An annual survey back in 2006 confirmed the continued steady growth of the humpback whale population off Australia's east coast.

Cape Byron Whale Research Project coordinator Dan Burns back then believed there was an annual migration of about 7,500 to 8,000 humpback whales off the east coast, which was increasing annually by about 10 per cent.

Mr Westwood put together a map showing he believes the whales are being funnelled between Narooma and Montague Island due to cold currents running through the area from Bass Strait.

Locals can get out there with Narooma Charters offering half price stand-by rates. To get on the whale watching roster contact Darryl on 0407 909 111.