This exhilarating and moving story tells of the fight to protect the migrating whale population off the coast of Western Australia.

Nearly 17,000 humpback whales leave their summer feeding grounds in the Antarctic every year to make the perilous journey to the breeding sites in the tropical waters off Western Australia. It's a trip they have made for thousands of years and it is fraught with danger.

Breathtaking footage and unprecedented access show the threats to the whales that come from both winter storms and from potentially fatal man-made obstacles.

But thankfully, a team of elite wildlife officers known as the Whale Patrol, led by veteran Dough Coughran, are on the alert to disentangle the creatures from the obstacle course of nets, buoys and ropes.