Estuary Guardians Mandurah
@estuaryguardiansmandurah
Estuary Guardians was established in 2015 by John Tonkin College students & teachers - working with rescue, research, business and schools, to encourage people to look after Mandurah’s dolphins and environment. It has since evolved into a community driven group - incorporating Mandurah Volunteer Dolphin Rescue Group.
Project ID: EGM
Mandurah's Dolphins
Mandurah has a population of over ~85 Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins that reside in the Peel-Harvey Estuary all year round. They choose to call it home due to the abundance of fish - which is their favourite food, the calm & warmer waters - ideal for raising their calves, and absence of predators. This population is unique in that dolphins are born into it, there is no immigration (coastal dolphins moving in). In the Dawesville Cut and adjoining coastal waters there is another population of ~40 dolphins. These dolphins occasionally venture into the estuary and interact with this population.
The Dolphins
As the Mandurah Volunteer Dolphin Rescue Group we monitor Mandurah’s dolphins, keep records of changes to the population and advise and assist Department of Biodiversity, Conservation & Attractions on any entangled, injured, stranded or deceased dolphins. With such information and incidents we advocate for the protection of our dolphins by local and state government.
Education
Educate the community about Mandurah’s marine environment, the diverse wildlife that call it home, the threats they face and how we can all do our part to protect them – inspiring more people to become guardians of the ‘Peel-Harvey Estuary’. We do this by offering education sessions for schools, dolphin forums & community group visits for adults and community event stalls.
Projects
Work on projects to protect and raise awareness of Mandurah’s marine environment, the diverse wildlife that call it home. Some of the projects we have worked on include fin books, fishing line bins, citizen science – Dolphin Watch App & more. We’re also part of the ‘The Clean Waterways Group’ in Mandurah – a collaborative effort developing new ways to engage the local community in caring for our waterways and wildlife.
