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RESEARCH

Impactful long-term research on Victoria’s dolphins and whales since 1991.

A leader in marine conservation in Victoria, we pride ourselves on conducting collaborative, ethical and sound scientific research to achieve the best outcomes for our dolphins, whales and their marine environment.

Here at the Dolphin Research Institute, we’ve been researching Victoria’s dolphin and whale populations for over 30 years. Our work is much like that of a detective’s – putting together the many pieces of a puzzle to understand how we can best protect our marine treasures.

Focusing on the Port Phillip, Western Port and central Bass Strait regions, we monitor our dolphin and whale populations by recording sightings and identifying individual dolphins, whales and killer whales. Every sighting and image taken helps us build a better picture of population sizes, associations of individuals, calving rates and success, and other important measures that are crucial to the ongoing protection of our dolphins and whales.

We lead three key research projects:

Our research contributes important data to environmental reporting and management efforts. We also aim to make all of our data publicly available, so that environmental decisions and policies can be made using the most up-to-date information. This includes our annual reports, research impact summaries, and other publicly accessible resources.

We always aim to conduct impactful research here at DRI, where our efforts can create change and inform important environmental management decisions. In 1996, our work helped establish the world’s first ‘sustainable dolphin swim’ regulations. This changed the way in which the industry operated and set the standard for dolphin swims all around the world. The regulations behind this change remain in place today – a true testament to DRI’s leadership and outreach!

If you would like to assist in our research, please report any dolphin or whale sightings through PodWatch.

RESEARCH NEWS