Traditional Owner groups in Far North Queensland are collaborating with marine biologists to conduct a census of the Great Barrier Reef’s threatened dolphin species.

The researchers from Flinders University and Queensland’s Southern Cross University are working with Indigenous communities to conduct an extensive study in their sea country, focusing on the threatened inshore species of humpback and snubfin dolphins.

The aim is to better understand the dolphins’ distribution and numbers as well as to assess threats they’re facing to better inform conservation efforts, filling a key data gap for species on the Reef.

The study area between Cairns and the tip off Cape York is regarded as some of the most pristine and unexplored sections of the Reef. Data will also be collected on any whale and dolphin species found during the survey.

The Great Barrier Reef Dolphin Project is a collaboration between the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, Southern Cross University and Flinders University and is funded by the partnership between the Australian Government’s Reef Trust and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation.

“In this remote and unexplored region, we need to understand the number, distribution and threats to inshore dolphins from the coast to the outer reef,” says project lead Dr Daniele Cagnazzi, from Southern Cross University.

“Traditional Owner and Indigenous ranger groups will be key to this new study of their sea countries, as they provide consent for the study and access to their distinct sea country regions.”

Traditional Owners also have opportunities to get involved in all aspects of the project, starting from the survey design alongside the research team.

Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is visited by more than 30 species of cetaceans. Yet little is known about two dolphin species in the study, which are regarded as vulnerable and highly charismatic.

“Both species are vulnerable because they live in small numbers, have a low reproduction rate and are dependent on the quality of coastal habitat,” Dr Cagnazzi says.

Co-lead research partner Associate Professor Guido Parra, from the Flinders University’s Cetacean Ecology Behaviour and Evolution Lab (CEBEL), says the field work will involve extensive consultation, engagement and use of technology including artificial intelligence (AI) and drones.

“This is an unprecedented opportunity for scientist and Traditional Owners to work together and fill in important gaps of knowledge concerning inshore dolphins in sea countries and the Great Barrier Reef,” he says.

The public and tourists also can also play a big role in these complex environmental projects.

“People are invited to be our ‘eyes on the Reef’ and reporting sightings of dolphins,” says Associate Professor Parra.

In addition to looking for and recording key animal and environmental indicators, the researchers will seek to uncover new insights and measures that take into account the diverse social, economic and cultural values the Reef brings to people and communities.

Great Barrier Reef Foundation Managing Director Anna Marsden says the Great Barrier Reef is “an irreplaceable ecosystem, home to thousands of species of marine life”.

“The condition and behaviour of individual marine species can tell us a lot about the health of the Reef,” she says.

“We will expand our knowledge of the early warning signs of ecological change so that Reef managers and researchers can proactively manage and support these three key species of inshore dolphins.”

Great Barrier Reef Dolphin Project

Phase 1: Engagement

The project team has just wrapped up a series of meetings with more than 15 Traditional Owner groups along the Far North Queensland coastline, between Cooktown and Bamaga, to gain their consent and support.

The scope of the engagement meetings was to present the project; to seek consent to survey within sea country regions; and discuss survey design, project logistics, survey protocols and methods, the research partnership agreement, and cultural protocols.

Phase 2: Surveys

The dolphin surveys will be conducted between September and November 2023.

The Great Barrier Reef Dolphin Project team would like to acknowledge all the Traditional Owners groups and corporations collaborating in this project: Dabu Jajikal Aboriginal Corporation (AC); Kalkajaka AC; Gamaay AC; Hope Vale Congress AC; Cape Melville, Flinders & Howick Islands Group AC; Alka Bawar (Kalpowar) AC; Yintjingga AC; Ngana Malngkanichi Pama (CNCRM) AC; Uutaalnganu AC; Nyiimuchin AC; Kuuku Ya’u AC; Wuthathi AC; and Gudang Yadhaykenu AC.

Acknowledgements: The Great Barrier Reef Dolphin Project is funded by the partnership between the Australian Government’s Reef Trust and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation with support from Southern Cross University and Flinders University.