Whale watching season has begun in Australia and the star attraction of the annual migration – Migaloo, a rare albino humpback – made his first appearance off the eastern coast this week.

The white Eastern Australian humpback celebrity, who was spotted off the coast of northern NSW, causes so much interest during his annual swim up to northern Queensland that the local environment authorities this week declared him a ‘special interest whale’ and threatened to issue hefty fines for anyone who gets too close.

There is now a 500m (1,600ft) exclusion zone around Migaloo for boats and jet skis, and aircraft must not venture closer than 2,000ft above.

“Migaloo has been declared a special-interest whale, granting him more space to swim up the Queensland coast,” Ms Jones said.

“The whale-watching regulations are there to protect the whales, but also to protect people from these huge, unpredictable mammals.