Annual counts in South African waters have shown growing numbers where the population is believed to be rising at a yearly rate of seven per cent.

This is considered to be a staggering figure for an animal that grows to 14 metres and weighs up to 40 tonnes or more, and a female that only calves every three years.

In Namibia, where the whaling of southern right whales reached a peak between 1785 and 1805, the recovery has not been as dramatic.

During a recent aerial survey conducted by marine scientist Jean Paul Roux and conservator Rod Braby in September about 11 whales with two babies were spotted from the air.

Roux and Rod Braby conducted an aerial census on Tuesday between Luderitz, Orange river and further south to about half way between Kleinsee and Hondeklip Bay in South Africa.

A total of 17 right whales were counted.

Many bays on the Namibian coast south of Mowe Bay have been visited each spring by female right whales to give birth and raise their young, and possibly to mate with accompanying males.

After the exploitation of southern right whales started in the region during the 18th century, catches already seemed to be declining at the beginning of the 19th century, according to a scientific paper on sightings in Namibian waters from 1971 to 1999.

Right whales were easy targets for commercial whalers because they moved slowly and obligingly floated to the surface when killed by the harpoons - hence their name, as they were the "right whale" to kill.

With the Walvis Bay region becoming a centre for the exploitation of humpback whales in the mid 19th century, it is assumed the remaining right whales were also targeted during this period.

Although details of the catch composition of the modern whaling period with several shore-based whaling stations operating along the Namibian coast between 1912 and 1914, and again between 1923 and 1930, there is no evidence of southern right whales in the catches.

According to the scientific paper this is possibly an indication that the local breeding population had been eradicated long before the species was granted international protection in 1935.

While a small population has been reported during the first half of the 20th century along the south coast of South Africa, no record of the species could be found in Namibian waters until the early 1970s.

Four incidental sightings were reported between 1971 and 1981 - the first indication that breeding adults frequented the area since the beginning of the 19th century.

The figure increased between 1996 and 1999 when at least ten small calves accompanied by adults were seen along the Namibian coast.

Of particular significance were the sightings of a single adult off the Kunene River mouth and a mother and calf pair at Mowe Bay swimming in a southerly direction in October 1996.

They are the northernmost records of the species in Namibia since the end of the whaling era.

A further confirmation of the presence of a small breeding stock in Namibian waters are the sightings of mother and calf pairs during four consecutive years.

Roux told The Namibian he is busy with an identification process of the Namibian stock in collaboration with Dr Peter Best from South Africa, who has been studying the whales for 30 years.

The idea is to compare the Namibian whales with South African identification photos to establish their relationship with that population.

Roux said there was an environmental concern that could play a limiting role in the potential recovery of the Namibian population.

At least three of the historically important calving bays in Namibia, at Walvis Bay, Luderitz Bay and Elizabeth Bay, have been the sites of important habitat alterations during the 20th century.

Walvis and Luderitz have been developed into major harbours, while a large part of Elizabeth Bay is being filled in by diamond mining operations.

Roux added that Sandwich Harbour has disappeared as a bay.

The southern right whale population in the southern hemisphere is estimated to be between 9 000 to 10 000 - a remarkable recovery considering the numbers were down to as low as 300 in the 1920s.

In South Africa last year's assessment revealed the biggest number yet with 845 counted - 169 more than the previous year.

The return of whales have resulted in a new industry - whale watching.

According to a study by the International Fund for Animal Welfare, the global whale watching industry was worth US$1 billion a year, attracting five million visitors to 87 countries annually.

In Namibia marine tours are becoming increasingly popular with more than 30 000 people going on tours last year in the bay of Walvis Bay.

According to Bill Dreyer, chairperson of the Marine Tour Association of Namibia (MTAN), a total of 33 whale sightings have been recorded so far this year on these tours.

Two southern right whales and three killer whales were seen on one day earlier this month.

In South Africa, the seaside resort of Hermanus, about 100 km from Cape Town, is considered one of the prime spots on the planet to see whales from dry land.

Watching whales from the shore is considered to be ecologically-friendly as there are growing concerns that boat-viewing expeditions may disturb and in some cases even harm the animals.

The annual whale festival at Hermanus draws large crowds every year.

This year they were not disappointed.

On one particular morning at least nine southern rights, including two females with calves, were visible from the shore.

* Additional reporting by Reuters

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