Victoria Point fishermen shocked to see their first humpback whale in 36 years off Coochimudo Island.

Norm Thompson and his friends who fish in the bay once a fortnight saw the spectacle from their boat in Pelican Bank about 1pm.

He said the close encounter was the first whale he had seen in the area in 36 years.

"I couldn't believe it at first. We were on our way back to shore after fishing and we heard this great big splash and saw the whale completely out of the water," Mr Thompson said.

"It was splashing around a lot, playing around with its tail, we watched for about 10 minutes, it was incredible."

According to the Queensland department of environment and science, about 30,000 humpback whales migrate from Antarctica to Queensland each year from June to August.

During their annual migration of almost 10,000 kilometres they visit coastal bay towns and attract thousands of visitors.

In 2014 a female southern right whale was killed after being minced by a boat propeller off Peel Island.

The whale had three deep propeller cuts to its head after it was believed to have been struck by a Cleveland-bound North Stradbroke Island water taxi.

Southern right whales were listed as endangered and protected under the federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.