Newport Beach whale-watchers say large numbers of blue whales have been seen this week off the Orange County coast.

At least 28 of the massive creatures, typically 65-70 feet in length, were seen during the week, including mothers and calves, said Thor Brisbin, manager at Davey’s Locker Sport Fishing and Whale Watching.

The whales are only 1 1/2 to two miles off the coast, mostly seen between the Newport Pier and Laguna Main Beach.

“We’re definitely seeing a lot more than were seen last year,” Brisbin said. “And last year was a very active year.”

Since the 1990s, more blue whales have been showing up off the California coast, including Orange County’s — possibly part of a shift in their movement patterns that could signal a return to pre-whaling migration patterns, said John Calambokidis, a senior research biologist at Cascadia Research in Washington state.

But in the past three to four years, there have been a larger number of blue whales off Southern California from Los Angeles southward, while fewer have been seen elsewhere on the California coast.

Brisbin said he thought the blue whales were part of a general increase in activity for marine life off the coast. The whale watching cruises also are encountering many dolphins.

“It seems like kind of an influx of sea life, a whole food chain thing going on out there,” he said. “Risso’s (dolphins) feeding on giant squid, giant squid and all the other fish feeding on krill and bait fish. It’s just a real dynamic environment right now.”

(Frame from video of blue whale diving courtesy Thor Brisbin.)

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 Scientists: blue whales might be restarting pre-whaling migration

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