Previously hunted, there is now a strong effort to save these whales.
Hoki Perano and John Norton are descendants of whaling families, but their generation wants to see the species survive.
Norton said, "A couple of years ago a whale came, right down the coast. He swung around, I could see this big eye looking at me and I thought, how the hell did I shoot those years ago."
They're volunteers with the conservation department's annual whale survey, assessing the humpback's recovery since New Zealand banned whaling in 1964.
The whales leave Antarctica, and they pass through Cook Strait, ending up in warmer waters north of New Zealand. Already, the conservation department says it's seeing a big increase in whale numbers compared to last year. In just three weeks, there have been 125 sightings. Last year, there were 92 in total.
Nadine Bott, whale survey project leader, said, "We're actually tracking their recovery. So I think that for about 40 years, they ticked along not really doing too much."
The men, virtually all descendants of whaling families, take turns during the month-long survey.
"We 're all working together. But, we're also getting to spend some time with the whalers, they're sharing their culture and that's pretty rare these days," said Bott.
That change in heart is changing fortunes for the humpback whales.
Volunteer Joe Hebley said, "You know, we all used to work together once, and you know it's a big industry the whaling industry and now we're still here but we're looking for them to save them now."
