Recently there has been a bit of hype over Southern Cross University (SCU) researchers shooting darts at dolphins in Tin Can Bay and scaring them away from a popular dolphin feeding spot in the area.
The research process was labelled ‘inhumane’ by owners of Barnacles Dolphin Centre—the operators of the feeding site (which would have been illegal if the State Government hadn’t ignored its environmental protection laws once again.)
What the researchers were actually doing was collecting tissue samples (less that 5mls of tissue) from the animals in an attempt to determine their migratory patterns—the extent of their family trees and whether or not they migrate to other waters. It was the latest in a number of dolphin research expeditions in the Great Sandy Strait/Hervey Bay area by SCU. In 2004-2005 a study was made into the distribution and abundance of Indo Pacific Humpback Dolphins (sousa chinesis) in the area, with some impressive conclusions made, including the fact that Great Sandy and Hervey Bay support the largest number of dolphins recorded in Australia.
Results of the biopsies taken in Tin Can Bay last week are now being claimed to have the potential to stop the damming of the Mary River, because, like the dugong, a dam could have a detrimental affect on dolphin food sources, and threaten the very survival of dolphin populations in the area.
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