Collaborative Rescue Effort saves young Dolphin near Batemans Bay

The Sea World Foundation rescue team, New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Rangers, ORRCA members and Marine Rescue NSW conducted a delicate rescue operation to disentangle a bottlenose dolphin calf at MacKenzies Beach near Batemans Bay.

The dolphin calf was first spotted in mid-June by members of the local community and reported to ORRCA, heavily entangled in braided fishing line, with the entanglement hog-tying the dolphin from its head to tail and restricting its swimming ability.

After further sightings were confirmed, the multi-agency rescue operation was planned with the Sea World Foundation team packing the rescue car and boat and traveling 17 hours south to assist.

With multiple vessels on the water and ORRCA drone operators and members assisting from the shore, the mum and calf were spotted just off MacKenzies Beach mid Thursday morning with the Sea World Foundation team managing to catch the calf and successfully remove the entanglement.

Sea World Foundation Head of Marine Sciences, Wayne Phillips said this was a wonderful outcome and it was rewarding to see the mum and calf swim off strongly.

“We managed to locate the pair after 90 minutes of searching, before our experienced team sprang into action to catch the dolphin from our vessel and worked quickly to disentangle the braided line,” he said.

“The line had become heavily entangled around the calf and restricting its swimming ability, so it was vital we intervened and removed all of the fishing line from the dolphin to give the calf its best chance of survival.

“We had initially attempted to connect to the trailing entanglement with a boat hook and bring the calf to the boat, but this was unsuccessful, so we moved to the strategy of catching from the boat and the team did a great job of safely getting control of the calf.

“It was so pleasing to see mum stay so close during the rescue operation, and to see the pair swim off together was such a fantastic result.”

National Parks and Sea World staff are specially trained to respond to marine wildlife events with programs funded by the Marine Estate Management Strategy (MEMS).

NSW National Parks and Wildlife (NPWS) Area Manager Leigh Nolan said there was a lot of planning and preparation behind the scenes on how best to help the animal, so we are very happy with today’s outcome.

“We don’t know exactly when or how the dolphin became caught in these lines, but it’s a reminder to all of us not to litter around the water,” she said.

“It was a tricky operation as the dolphin’s mother was very protective and at first did not allow teams to get close enough to try to remove the fishing lines.

“It was real teamwork. NPWS led the operation and provided air and on-water support, the Sea World Foundation team flew down, spotted the dolphin and cut the ropes, and ORRCA volunteers spent many hours finding and keeping eyes on the dolphin from shore.”

ORRCA President Ashley Ryan said ORRCA have been monitoring this young dolphin for several weeks, and to see this rescue come together is an incredible relief.

“Every sighting has helped us build the knowledge we needed to plan the best possible response. This was a complex entanglement, and the outcome is a testament to the persistence of our dedicated ORRCA members and the strength of collaboration between agencies,” she said.