Earlier this month, a pod of five killer whales - or orcas - were spotted frolicking around Low Head.

Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment wildlife biologist Rachael Alderman said the black and white carnivores had been sighted in the area before.

"I wouldn't say there are regular sightings of them, but it's not uncommon to have sightings of orcas in Tasmania at certain times of the year," Dr Alderman said.

"One of the things with killer whales is that we're keen to hear about them, but we're really keen to see photos of them.

"If we see good photos we can identify individual whales by their colours and markings."

Dr Alderman said public input to a growing database meant researchers could learn more about how Tasmanian waters fitted into orcas' habits.

She said it could lead to very interesting conclusions.

"A couple of years ago we had some killer whales sighted in the Derwent (River in Hobart) ... through people phoning in and sending photos we were able to match this pod with others that were seen in New South Wales a few weeks earlier," Dr Alderman said.

"They can move quite good over distance in search for food."

Report any Tasmanian waters, whale or dolphin strandings, injured whales, dolphins or seals, strange or unusual marine mammals and turtles to DPIPWE by calling the Whale Hotline on 0427WHALES (0427 942 537).