No trip to Byron Bay would be complete without seeing dolphins off the Cape, yet we know so very little about them.  Hopefully things are about to change as Liz Hawkins, a PhD student from the Southern Cross University Whale Research Centre (SCUWRC), continues her three year research project on the dolphin societies of Byron Bay.  Liz’s interest is the behaviour and acoustics of the bottlenose dolphins that are residents of the Bay. At the same time she is studying the impacts of boating and other human activities on the animals' communication and social structure.  Dolphins rely on sound (acoustics) for communication, finding food and finding their way. This makes them particularly susceptible to disturbances from boating activities. Liz is also establishing a photo identification catalogue using the unique shapes of the dorsal fins to identify individuals. By combining this with her acoustic catalogue, which identifies different sounds dolphins make such as whistles, squawks, squeaks, and sonar clicks she can get an idea of how the communities of dolphin interact with one another. 

A number of tourist operations are donating time and equipment to assist Liz with her  field observations including Baysail Charters’ yacht ‘Ironbark’ and Dolphin Kayaks of Byron Bay. Liz estimates that over 120 inshore bottlenose dolphins are resident in the waters from South Golden Beach to Richmond River. The results of the project will give us a better understanding of the social structure and communication of wild dolphin populations.  This will in turn improve the conservation and protection of dolphins and the marine environment they call home. 
 

Members of the public can join dolphin watching expeditions on half day and full day charters through Baysail Yacht Charters with proceeds going towards the Byron Bay Dolphin Research Project. For bookings phone Iain McCabe on 0418 656 160 or email info@baysail.net.au

Funds from the purchase of the colour book ‘A Whale Song’ ($19.95) produced by SCUWRC go towards dolphin and whale research in the Northern Rivers area. See the SCUWRC website to purchase: www.scu.edu.au/whales.

Donations can also be made to assist dolphin research by phoning (02) 6626 9401 or (02) 6620 3650.  Donations over $20.00 are tax deductible.