May the Year of the Pig be good for you! Red and gold are lucky colours, with the red symbolising life and happiness, and the gold favouring wealth and prosperity. This biscuit seastar and hermit crab look set for a very happy 2019.
At this time of the year, it’s good to reflect on the past and look forward to the future. As a Chinese proverb says: Enjoy life. It’s later than you think.
The Dolphin Research Institute has been caring for our bays since 1991; that’s now 28 years of care of, and for, our living marine treasures – not just dolphins.
After all these years, the Dolphin Research Institute is still sometimes asked – what have we actually done and what is our relevance in the 21st century?
We can tick off several achievements easily –
- dolphin swim industry regulations (first in the world and still the bench-mark internationally)
- more than 100 schools around the bays this year with incredibly keen, young marine ambassadors
- five years (and on-going) data of the presence/absence of dolphins in Port Phillip from our Community Dolphin Monitoring Program volunteers
- data base of dolphin fin ID since the early 2000’s
- graduate students who continue to ‘enthuse’ about marine science after their placement with us.
We know the need continues for the work we do; and we know the Dolphin Research Institute will only continue with on-going support. You can be part of this through financial support, sending us your sightings, sharing our story or coming along to an education program!
Here’s to another 28 years of DRI, and a very Happy Year of the Pig!