Having decided earlier in the year to "adopt'' a whale as part of the Humpback Icon Project the council now has to name it and they want shire residents to help.

The project is designed to raise awareness of the threats facing whales and to generate action to protect them.

Sutherland Shire's whale will be one of many passing close to Kurnell as they make their way north.

Sutherland Shire Whale-watcher Wayne Reynolds has been counting whales on their annual migration at Kurnell for 15 years.

He said his team of volunteers would be starting their count on May 24.

"There are already a few making their way up the coast,'' he said.

"We've had reports of some seen off Scarborough this week.

"Last year we had a burst of activity with more than 100 counted in the first week or so and then a real drop-off.

"It will be interesting to see what happens this year.''

A whale's tail has unique markings just as fingerprints are unique to each person and those markings are used to identify each whale.

The council has set up a website for people to vote for a name from a list of options or suggest their own.

To enter your vote visit sutherland.nsw.gov.au

and look for the Name the Shire's Whale spotlight on the front page.

The name chosen by the community will be announced in June.