Vice president of the Organisation for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia (ORRCA), Jools Farrell, said the first recorded sighting of a humpback whale along the East Coast this year was in late March, off Port Macquarie.

Traditionally not seen until around the beginning of May, Ms Farrell said the whales had been starting their northward migrations earlier in recent years.

"Because the population is increasing we're seeing them earlier," she said.

"The population is increasing by about 10-15 per cent each year."

Ms Farrell said ORRCA had already recorded around 25 sightings of humpbacks off the East Coast this season, with the migration set to run through until about August.

With the latter months of the migration more popular among older, slower whales, Ms Farrell said keen observers could potentially see Migaloo making his way up the coast around July, now that the famous white humpback was estimated to be in his mid-30s.

The whales generally stick further out to sea as they head up the coast, but Ms Farrell said there was still the potential to catch a glimpse of them closer in.

"They tend to stay about 12 nautical miles out, but there are spots where they come in," she said.

"You may see them up close but it's the southern migration when they hug the coast, because they've got calves."

The humpbacks are headed towards the tropical waters of the Pacific, where they breed and calve, before they come back south again from September onward to feed in the waters of Antarctica through the summer months.

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And it's not just humpback whales you can spot off the East Coast at the moment, with the smaller minke whales also on the move.

Ms Farrell said she had also spotted a Bryde's whale and a pod of false killer whales off the coast in recent weeks.

She said ORRCA still hoped to hold its annual whale census on Sunday, June 28, but wouldn't be able to make a final decision until the start of June, when the restrictions around COVID-19 had been reassessed.

Locally, Forster-based fishing and whale-watching charter operator, Phil Gogerly of Reel Ocean Adventures, said while he'd been unable to run charters as a result of the COVID-19 restrictions, he'd been getting plenty of inquiries from people interested in getting out and seeing the whales.

He believed the next four weeks would see whale numbers off the coast around the Great Lakes continue to increase, with the migration getting busier in July.

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