Like the whales they have studied for decades, Wally and Trish Franklin migrate to Queensland's Hervey Bay each winter to do research in the unique whale sanctuary.
As directors of The Oceania Project, and as PhD candidates with Southern Cross University, the Franklins have been regularly sighted in Hervey Bay since 1988 and in that time have observed, recorded and photographed over 10,000 individual whales and assembled a catalogue of 3000 humpback whale flukes to study the social behaviour and social organisation of humpback whales.
The Franklins' efforts were recognised by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) recently at the annual Action Awards. The awards are presented to Australians who have made an outstanding contribution to animal welfare. Trish and Wally, of Byron Bay, were awarded with the IFAW Lifetime Dedication Award.
IFAW Oceania director Isabel McCrea said the honour was well deserved by the Franklins who attended a ceremony in Brisbane last month to personally accept the award.
"Trish and Wally Franklin's research and community awareness work has made an enormous contribution to conservation and IFAW would like to congratulate the Franklins on 30 years of hard work to protect humpback whales," Ms McCrea said.
"In our line of work we are extremely lucky to come across extraordinary people whose passion for animal welfare drives them to do some pretty incredible things and, on behalf of the humpback whales, we want to say thank you."
Indeed, it has been an award-filled few months for the Franklins. In October, they won the John Craig-Gardiner Award for Outstanding Contribution to Tourism at the Fraser Coast Tourism Awards. Tourism and research and conservation are words that can sometimes be mutually exclusive, however in Hervey Bay whale watching is a multi-million dollar industry and the Franklins' work and dedication is deeply respected and has contributed to a deeper understanding of humpback whales and Hervey Bay 's importance as a sanctuary.
The economic impact of whale watching was scrutinised by Fraser Coast Tourism in the award submission. Data collected in 2009 valued direct ticket sales from whale watching in Hervey Bay at $5.9 million. Indirect expenditure associated with whale watching was estimated at $7 million, giving a total of $12.9 million. The value of an individual whale to the Fraser Coast tourism industry is estimated at $97,000.
Overall, the tourism industry contributes over $600 million to the local economy annually.
"The award acknowledges (the Franklins) passion and long term commitment to the conservation and research of whales and to the tourism industry in the Fraser Coast region," Tourism Fraser Coast chief executive officer Damien Massingham said.
Updated: 11 January 2012