Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary

Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary South Australia
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)[1]
Dolphin in the Port River
Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary
Nearest town or city	Port Adelaide
Coordinates	34°44′35.15″S 138°29′23.64″E / 34.7430972°S 138.4899000°E / -34.7430972; 138.4899000Coordinates: 34°44′35.15″S 138°29′23.64″E / 34.7430972°S 138.4899000°E / -34.7430972; 138.4899000
Established	4 June 2005 (2005-06-04)[2]
Area	118.75 km2 (45.8 sq mi)[1]
Managing authorities	Department for Environment and Water
Website	Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary
See also	Protected areas of South Australia

Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary is a marine protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located on the east coast of Gulf St Vincent in and adjoining the north-western part of the Adelaide metropolitan area and which was established in 2005 for the protection of a resident population of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus).^[3]

The sanctuary covers an area of coastline extending from Port Gawler in the north to North Haven in the south, and includes the waterways of the Port Adelaide River, the Barker Inlet and some associated channels, as well as Torrens and Garden Islands, and inlets on the Lefevre Peninsula such as Mutton Cove. The habitat protected by the sanctuary consists of “mangroves, seagrass, saltmarsh, tidal flats, tidal creeks and estuarine rivers.”^[4] As of 2014, it covered an area of 118.75 square kilometres (45.85 sq mi).^[1][3]

The sanctuary was proclaimed in 2005 for the purpose of achieving the following two objects:^[2][5]

(a) to protect the dolphin population of the Port Adelaide River estuary and Barker Inlet; and
(b) to protect the natural habitat of that population.

The sanctuary is also required to achieve the following six objectives:^[6]

(a) the protection of the dolphin population of the Port Adelaide River estuary and Barker Inlet from direct physical harm is to be maintained and improved;
(b) the key habitat features in the Port Adelaide River estuary and Barker Inlet that are necessary to sustain the dolphin population are to be maintained, protected and restored;
(c) water quality within the Port Adelaide River estuary and Barker Inlet should be improved to a level that sustains the ecological processes, environmental values and productive capacity of the Port Adelaide River estuary and Barker Inlet;
(d) the interests of the community are to be taken into account by recognising indigenous and other cultural, and historical, relationships with the Port Adelaide River estuary and Barker Inlet and surrounding areas, and by ensuring appropriate participation in processes associated with the management of the Port Adelaide River estuary and Barker Inlet;
(e) public awareness of the importance of a healthy Port Adelaide River estuary and Barker Inlet to the economic, social and cultural prosperities of the local communities, and the community more generally, is to be promoted;
(f) the principles of ecological sustainable development in relation to the use and management of the Port Adelaide River estuary and Barker Inlet are to be promoted.

As of June 2015, the Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary was managed by the Department of Environment and Water with assistance from other South Australian government agencies, local government and other organizations with responsibilities in respect to the waters and land associated with the sanctuary or having an interest in such. Management activity was supported by a community volunteer group known as the ADS Action Group which was created in 2012 and which had 50 registered volunteers in 2015.^[7][3]

The Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary shares territory with the following protected areas – the Barker Inlet-St Kilda Aquatic Reserve, the Port Gawler Conservation Park, the majority of the St Kilda – Chapman Creek Aquatic Reserve and the Torrens Island Conservation Park. It will also share territory with parts of the Adelaide International Bird Sanctuary yet to be proclaimed as of 27 October 2016 and which are located in localities and suburbs including Bolivar, Buckland Park, Dry Creek, Globe Derby Park, Port Gawler and St Kilda.^[4][8][9]

The sanctuary also adjoins the Adelaide Metropolitan Beaches Restricted Area which extends from North Haven in the north along the Adelaide metropolitan coastline to Sellicks Beach in the south and which is described in the National Parks and Wildlife (Protected Animals—Marine Mammals) Regulations 2010. Both the sanctuary and the Adelaide Metropolitan Beaches Restricted Area are areas subject to the additional regulatory requirements regarding “commercial activities” in respect to interaction with marine mammals including all species of dolphins present in South Australia.^[10]

The sanctuary is classified as an IUCN Category VI protected area.^[1]

Dr Mike Bossley of WDC has lobbied for the establishment of an interpretive centre to educate people about the Port River dolphins and the Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary.^[11]

Dolphin population[]

The population once numbered in the 40s,^[when?] but by 2021 had halved. The population includes a combination of dolphins of which 10 reside in the estuary and a further 10 come and go from Gulf St Vincent waters. Dolphins that inhabit or visit the sanctuary face a range of threats, including boat strikes, fishing line entanglement and shark attacks. They also face viruses and pollution, including heavy metals and other substances that bio-accumulate. Calf mortality is also high. Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary researcher Marianna Boorman told the ABC News in August 2021 that the pod had lost 10 young calves and eight adult females in the past four years. In that time, only three new calves had survived.^[12]

In 1998, two dolphins died in the sanctuary area.^[11]

In 2015, a dolphin named Graze was found dead. A necropsy conducted by the South Australian Museum found four shot-gun pellets in her body. Dr Mike Bossley had been tracking the animal since his first sighting of her in 1992. Graze is not the first dolphin from the pod to have been shot.^[11]

Between 2018 and 2019, 11 of the 13 calves born had died with many of them hit by boats.^[13] All of the calves born in the summer of 2018-19 died.^[14]

In 2019, a dolphin named Star ingested fishing gear and died after having hooks in his mouth for nearly three weeks. In October 2020, a male dolphin called Marianna died from blunt force trauma, most likely after collision with a boat. In 2021, a series of deaths and disappearances of dolphins from the sanctuary raised scientific and community concern about the future of the sanctuary's dolphin population. In August, a 12-year-old dolphin called Tallulah was found dead, and two other dolphins, Doc and Twinkle disappeared^[12] and have not been seen since. Twinkle had been rescued from entanglement on four prior occasions. In October 2021, another dolphin named Hunter was captured and euthanised after being seen in poor physical condition.

The director of AMWRRO, a marine wildlife rescue organisation based in Port Adelaide has told the ABC that bureaucratic processes contributed to the death of Star as he was not given authority to use his equipment and expertise in a timely manner.^[13]

In 2021, dolphin watcher and advocate Jenni Wyrsta predicted that the pod could be completely extinct by 2026.^[15]

See also[]

• Protected areas of South Australia
• List of protected areas in Adelaide

References[]

External links[]

• Official webpage
• The webpage for the Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary on the Protected Planet website
• Port River Dolphins, Behind the News