Marine Conservation Program

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Marine Conservation Program

The Whalestas page is the official social media channel for the Marine Conservation Program of the Tasmanian Government.

The Marine Conservation Program undertakes a range of cetacean monitoring projects. Monitoring the population trends, habitat use and behaviour of whales and dolphins in Tasmania enables us to identify factors that influence their abundance and survival and, where possible, develop effective methods to improve their conservation status. Interest and awareness of whales and dolphins continues to gr

ow in Tasmania and engagement with the public is critical to the success of the program. Real-time reporting of cetacean sightings and injured or entangled marine mammals contributes important information to long-term monitoring of threatened species and facilitates rapid and effective response to incidents. Please report sightings or strandings of whales and dolphins in Tasmania to the Whale Hotline (0427 WHALES). For further information visit www.dpipwe.tas.gov.au/whalestas

DISCLAIMER

The Marine Conservation Program reserves the right to remove any comments that it determines are:

• discriminatory, defamatory, false or misleading, prejudicial, racist, inflammatory, repetitive, vexatious, offensive or inappropriate;
• serve as spam, are largely self-promotional including commercial advertising, are not related to its purpose or include irrelevant links to other pages or websites;
• contain swearing, are abusive or have the potential to incite others;
• reveal personal information about others; or
• contain party political messages. The Marine Conservation Program will remove any comments that breach these conditions and may block users who repeatedly post inappropriately. The opinions posted by users of this page may not reflect those of the Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment. The Department does not accept liability for third party content on this site. The Marine Conservation Program monitors comments left on this page during business hours. As soon as possible we hide and delete comments that don’t meet standards of decent and respectful commentary, and we ban users when we need to. Sometimes we turn off comments on a post, usually due to excessive moderation requirements.

12/03/2026

The Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre (TAC) recently partnered with the Marine Conservation Program (MCP) and the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) to research yula (muttonbirds) on Big Dog Island in the Furneaux Islands and near the Flinders Marine Park in Bass Strait.

The two-year TAC project, which is supported by funding from the Australian Government's Our Marine Parks Grants Program, aims to combine modern scientific tools with cultural knowledge to better understand yula habitat use, strengthen community connections with these culturally significant birds, and support reconnection with Sea Country.

As part of the project and over two yula breeding seasons, Pakana rangers from TAC worked alongside MCP and IMAS scientists to track foraging yula to better understand their use of marine parks when they are raising their young.

MCP and IMAS teams shared tracking techniques and technical skills, supporting the upskilling of Pakana rangers to continue this work into the future. In turn, the researchers gained a deeper understanding of the importance and need to protect Aboriginal knowledge systems, while building important connections and relationships within the team.

The project stands as a genuine collaboration between traditional knowledge and contemporary science. We’re honoured to have contributed to such meaningful work.

🎥 Watch the short project video: https://www.facebook.com/reel/2282834588861264

Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies - IMAS
Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre

24/02/2026

This time of year, our team receives an annual spike in reports of deceased and injured individual penguins across the state.

This is not unusual and is typically associated with juvenile penguins not fledging successfully.

However, it is a timely reminder to consider ways to minimise our impacts on little penguin populations. A good starting point is to familiarise yourself with the Penguin Watching Guidelines in place to protect penguins and allow visitors to see them under natural conditions. For more information, check out our website: https://nre.tas.gov.au/wildlife-management/penguin-watching-guidelines

Penguins are protected wildlife, and it is illegal to catch, attempt to catch or harass penguins.

📷 Peviz Marker

04/11/2025

Marine Conservation Program staff have received a report about a stranded adult dolphin at Bruny Island.

The species is not yet known.

Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service are working with advice from the Marine Conservation Program to try to refloat the dolphin.

No further assistance is needed at this time.

To report strandings call the Marine Mammal Hotline on 0427 WHALES (0427 942 537).

24/10/2025

UPDATE 27 October:
We are still on the lookout for an entangled whale off the east coast. Based on the last known location and speed the whale was moving, we expect it will be between Freycinet and the Tasman Peninsula.

While splashing and slapping fins on the water is normal behaviour for the most common whale species seen in Tasmania, the entangled whale will be slow-moving and stay near the surface of the water. The rope and buoys the whale is entangled in will be visible behind it.

If you see the entangled whale, please report sightings to the whale hotline on 0427 WHALES (0426 942 537). Please do not attempt to remove any trailing rope from the whale as this comes with significant safety risks and can actually compromise disentanglement response options.

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Marine Conservation Program staff have received a report about an entangled whale off Tasmania's east coast.

The whale, which is about 6m, was seen earlier this afternoon offshore from St Helens and travelling south at the time.

The whale appears to be trailing about 60m of rope and buoys.

Members of the public are asked to keep an eye out for this whale and report any sightings to the whale hotline on 0427 WHALES.
Anyone who spots the whale is asked to accurately record its location and the direction it is heading and phone the hotline for further advice. If safe to take photos, please capture images.

Whales are powerful animals capable of causing injury or death and the public should not attempt any rescue. Our team has specialised equipment and staff are trained in nationally recognised techniques to carry out whale disentanglement.

21/08/2025

Help keep watch for the arrival of bird flu (avian influenza). The disease is not in Tasmania yet but we are preparing.

Learn what you can do now, what the signs of disease are and how to report sick or dead animals at www.nre.tas.gov.au/BirdFlu

19/06/2025

Celebrating World Albatross Day 2025

World Albatross Day (19 June) is dedicated to raising awareness for albatross and other seabirds.

Did you know Australia has its own albatross species?

Unique to Tasmania, the Shy Albatross breeds on just three offshore islands around Tasmania - Albatross Island in the north and Pedra Branca and the Mewstone in the south.

These majestic seabirds only lay one egg per year, hopefully raising their single chick to successfully fledge. As adults, they spend most of their lives in Australian waters and can travel up to 1000 kilometres in a single day.

They face risks from climate change impacts, offshore developments, fisheries bycatch, and the potential arrival of High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza into Australia.

Listed as threatened under Tasmanian and Australian Government legislation, the species is closely monitored by the Marine Conservation Program to understand population trends and ecology as well as identify key threatening processes impacting the species.

This knowledge helps us identify practical on-ground actions that may help minimise effects of ongoing threats to this important and charismatic marine predator.

Want to learn more? Visit the NRE Tas website: https://nre.tas.gov.au/conservation/threatened-species-and-communities/lists-of-threatened-species/threatened-species-vertebrates/shy-albatross

Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service
Biosecurity Tasmania

17/06/2025

🐦 What you need to know about bird flu

Join us for a free public webinar on H5 avian influenza (bird flu).

Hear from national experts on what’s being done across agriculture, environment and health portfolios to prepare for a potential outbreak. Also learn about what you can do in your area to be bird flu ready.

Everyone’s welcome – share with your networks!
📅 Thursday 19 June
🕜 1:30 – 3:00 PM (AEST)
💻 Online via Zoom
🎟️ Free registration 👇

06/06/2025

They’re back! One of nature’s epic migrations is under way, with humpback and southern right whales migrating north through Tasmanian waters as they travel to their calving grounds and aggregation areas.

Whales will return with their young to feeding grounds in the colder Southern Ocean from mid-August to November.

These are amazing creatures and fascinating to watch but it’s important to keep your distance. This keeps you safe and protects the whales.

Report whale sightings, including strandings and entanglements, to our hotline on 0427 WHALES (0427 942 537).

Whale and dolphin viewing guidelines are on our website: www.nre.tas.gov.au/wd-viewing

21/03/2025

At this time of year, male fur seals disperse from colonies post-breeding to forage in their winter feeding grounds. From March each year, you can expect to see fur seals at less common places in Tasmania as they come ashore to rest.

For the safety of both you and the welfare of the animals, it is important to remember that guidelines for seal watching are in place. Seals are wild animals that require space and approaching them can be dangerous, please give them space to rest and ensure you keep 20m distance between you and the seal, and keep dogs with leashes 50m away from the seal.

Please report sightings of seals to our Marine Conservation Program’s Marine/Whale Hotline on 0427 942 537.

20/02/2025

Euthanasia operations are now completed following a mass false killer whale stranding near Arthur River, where challenging weather conditions and remote access impeded rescue options.

Both human and animal safety and welfare were a key priority today.

Our wildlife veterinarian Sarah Michael oversaw the euthanasia.

“I observed the euthanasia and I am confident it was accomplished humanely using our established best practice procedure. I’m also confident that euthanasia was the right decision for this complex situation,” Dr Michael said.

Post-mortem investigations began on site today and further sampling will continue into tomorrow.

Our wildlife veterinarians are working with a veterinary pathologist from the Department's Health Laboratory to undertake necropsies, which will provide invaluable information on the health of the whales.

Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service has closed the roads and beaches in the area. To stay up to date with closures visit https://parks.tas.gov.au/alerts

Address

NRE Tas, 134 Macquarie Street
Hobart, TAS
7001

Telephone

+61427942537

Website

http://NRE.tas.gov.au/whalestas

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