PORT STEPHENS DOLPHIN CENSUS MAKES A SPLASH

Volunteer nature lovers came together in Port Stephens recently to count dolphins as part of a census of the region’s famous mammal. ‘Flopper’, a dolphin left with a floppy fin after a shark attack, and ‘Scream’, who gave birth to a calf in March, were two of 91 dolphins counted.

The release of the census results confirms a healthy population of dolphins in Port Stephens on par with the average number of dolphins - 91 - sighted across the 15 years the census has been conducted.

A total of 64 camera-toting volunteers manned 43 on-shore and on-water sites during the one-hour dolphin count which was coordinated by a Port Stephens whale and dolphin expert from Imagine Cruises.

The volunteer-based census is the longest-running community dolphin count in Australia and supports dolphin conservation and other studies conducted by research institutes. The annual census has also been supported by the National Parks and Wildlife Service.

This year the annual dolphin census was integrated into Port Stephens’ first-ever Naturefest program, a festival created by dolphin-watch operators, Imagine Cruises, Moonshadow Cruises and Tamboi Queen Cruises and supported by d’Albora Marina Nelson Bay, Destination Port Stephens and Port Stephens Council to showcase the region’s natural scenery and wildlife in winter.