Amazing pictures as Orcas spotted off South Coast NSW

The whales made their appearance when those on the Sapphire Coastal Adventures arrived alongside Green Cape Lighthouse, and a person on-board pointed to an elusive shape beneath the surface.

Mr Rogers said it was too black to be a bottle-nosed dolphin and too small to be a humpback, and was elated along with fellow punters to realise who the special visitors were.

"Up the front of the pack we saw the main bull which has a really large dorsal fin, and then we saw another one with a weird looking fin. It was Split Fin, the matriarch of the pod," he said with excitement.

"We cruised another 500 metres and we came across another six to seven orcas, and there was a really young calf with them, and a slightly bigger calf.

"It's so exciting, and everyone on board was frothing, and the Killers of Eden are back."

Named due to the distinctive split in her dorsal fin, Split Fin was first photographed in Eden during 2003.

It is within a week of being exactly one year since they were spotted in Merimbula 2023, when Mr Rogers captured 'the Holy Grail' of a breaching killer whale.

Research officer at Dolphin Research Institute, David Donnelly has been studying orcas for 22 years, and said the next steps are to determine if all the orcas had been identified previously.

"At the moment we feel as though there's one calf and one juvenile, and the rest look to be adults, and it's a fantastic sign," he said, noting the sightings of Split Fin and Bent Tip.

"To know that the next generation is coming along, it really warms the heart and it really makes for a great story to be able to see this."

Mr Donnelly found out through a text message while in an aircraft conducting a marine survey further south, but he said it was unfortunate the survey didn't extend to Green Cape.

"Interestingly, this is the same group of animals that were sighted last Saturday off Loch Sport in Victoria which were near the entangled whale that was successfully freed on Saturday afternoon," Mr Donnelly said.

"It's great to get photos from that sighting and then yesterday from this sighting as it gives us a tiny piece of the puzzle in understanding their movements."

He described Green Cape as a "cafe stop" for the family who were likely stopping for meals of seals, but suggested they were now heading south like clockwork.

"David Rogers is just one of those lucky guys, he's a killer whale magnet, and that's pleasing for him and for myself and the work that we do," Mr Donnelly said.

"Killer whales are almost impossible to study from a dedicated survey view, so you really do rely on citizen science and that's what these guys do."

The Dolphin Research Institute has also launched 'Adopt a Killer Whale', with Split Fin the first available to help further the study of these elusive animals.