Where river meets sea | The Fin Review

This requires us to spend equal time in the Peel-Harvey and in the coastal waters.

So far our research has identified a resident community of about 130 dolphins in the estuary.

Some of these dolphins swim all throughout the waterways, while others stay mostly in rivers, and a group of young dolphins stay mainly in the Harvey Estuary.

We have observed several of the resident dolphins venture out to the coast for a surf and to socialize with coastal dolphins, and occasionally we’ve seen a coastal dolphin visit the Peel-Harvey.

We have identified the Dawesville Cut and Mandurah Channel as two important areas where the dolphins spend a lot of their time.

These locations are important feeding grounds, where dolphins can hunt for many different kinds of fish.

The Mandurah Channel is usually occupied by the resident Peel-Harvey dolphins, while coastal visitors are observed mainly during feeding frenzies.

In contrast, the Dawesville Cut is mainly occupied by coastal dolphins.

In 2017 we will be gathering further data to better understand the ranging patterns of both the Peel-Harvey and coastal residents. 

This year we will also be looking into the genetic relationships within the populations, to determine whether the coastal and estuary dolphins interbreed.

Our study also attempts to capture the movement of coastal travelers and visitors to the area – transients, we call them – to understand the population dynamics of the dolphins residing in our waters.

It will be interesting to see whether dolphins from neighboring areas, like Bunbury and Cockburn, ever visit our area of study.

The MDRP is a partnership between Murdoch University, City of Mandurah, Peel Development Commission, Mandurah Cruises, John and Bella Perry and Mandurah Dolphin Rescue.

You can follow the MDRP on Facebook or through this weekly column.