This project is compiling and reviewing the results of research projects completed under Australia's Whale and Dolphin Protection Plan, and monitoring and offset programs associated with port developments. The synthesis of scientific information will contribute to assessments of the conservation status of the Australian Snubfin Dolphin, Orcaella heinsohni; Australian Humpback Dolphin, Sousa sahulensis; and Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin, Tursiops aduncus. The results will provide the Threatened Species Scientific Committee (TSSC) with information to help assess a second nomination to list the Australian Humpback Dolphin as Vulnerable under the EPBC Act. The project team is working closely with research users to develop outputs that meet their needs.

Background

In 2013, a nomination to list the Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphin (now  the Australian Humpback Dolphin) as Vulnerable under the EPBC Act was not progressed by the TSSC due to a lack of data. A Coordinated National Research Framework to Inform the Conservation and Management of Australia’s Tropical Inshore Dolphins was subsequently formed. Research and monitoring projects targeting inshore dolphins were funded, generating data and reporting to assess the conservation status of the three tropical inshore dolphin species. The most significant of project involved long-term monitoring in Darwin Harbour and surrounds and one-off surveys across the entire Northern Territory coast.