The Mandurah Dolphin Research Project, which began in January 2016, aims to gain a better understanding of bottlenose dolphins in the region, however until now it had been unclear how long the research would continue.
“It has been the goal to have it as a long-term research project, but it definitely depended on getting the funding and local support,” chief researcher Krista Nicholson said.
Ms Nicholson said in its first year the project had really struck a chord with the Mandurah community.
“I think the local people really seem to care about their dolphins, so I think there’s a lot of interest,” she said.
“They’re such an important part of what Mandurah is, that I think everybody at all levels from the City of Mandurah, to locals, everybody, see dolphins as a very big part of the identity of Mandurah.”
She said locals she had met genuinely wanted to know more about the dolphins, and make sure they are protected.
The project, which studies dolphins in the Peel Harvey Estuary is set to continue for the next four years, after successful funding bids to the Regional Grants Scheme and the City of Mandurah.
Ms Nicholson and her research team have, until now, had to borrow a car and a boat every time they want to go out on the water (which comprises the entirety of their field work).
The Regional Grants Scheme funding – $56,500 – will be put towards a dedicated research vessel to conduct fieldwork, along with an extra $30,000 donated by Mandurah-based philanthropists John and Bella Perry.
The City of Mandurah’s contribution of $20,000 will allow the MDRP team to buy a dedicated vehicle to tow the boat.
The council also approved $30,000 each year for the next four years, to cover the operating costs of the project.
Ms Nicholson’s supervisor from the Murdoch University Cetacean Research Unit, Lars Bejder, said the knowledge gained from the study would assist government, industry and local community groups in planning activities which minimised impacts on the dolphins.
For the next four years, Ms Nicholson said her team will be working on expanding their abundance estimates, as well as looking further into the dolphins’ foraging ecology and genetics.
“We’ll be carrying on as we are, and also building on things like working with the schools, doing school presentations, connecting with the community, and helping out with the littering program,” she said.
For more information about the Mandurah Dolphin Research Project, visit their Facebook page or read Krista Nicholson’s fortnightly column in the Mandurah Mail, the Fin Review.
