Conservationists say world’s only city-based dolphin sanctuary in South Australia could be lost

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Australia is home to the world's only city-based dolphin sanctuary, established 20 years ago to protect a rare pod living in an Adelaide estuary. But since it was established, the population has halved to 20. With some of their greatest challenges ahead, experts fear this unique treasure could be lost.

Transcript

00:00Every week, Dr Mike Bosley travels Adelaide's Port River to survey a rare pod of dolphins.

00:10He's done this since 1988.

00:13We know their life history, we know who their grandmother was and who their mother was.

00:19Dr Bosley has dedicated his life to protecting this pod.

00:23In the late 1990s and early 2000s, a number of dolphins were getting killed, shot, speared,

00:28stabbed, stuff like that.

00:30And that got a lot of publicity and was, I guess, the impetus for the government to take action.

00:38The Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary was established in 2005, then home to about 40 resident bottlenose dolphins.

00:45It spans 118 square kilometres over the Port River in Gulf St Vincent,

00:50but encompasses South Australia's largest shipping and industrial port.

00:56Development and heavy industry line the water's edge.

01:0120 years since becoming protected, the resident dolphin population has halved.

01:07We've got to retrofit looking after the dolphins to an established industrial area.

01:12Parliamentary inquiry found toxins weren't the direct cause of deaths,

01:16but contributed to compromised immune responses, leaving the dolphins vulnerable to infections.

01:21Senior Ghana elder Lynette Crocker says pollutants pumped into the river over decades have taken a toll.

01:31We're not leaving a legacy for anybody else.

01:35You know, it's just more damage.

01:38The EPA monitors the Port River estuary.

01:41It found Port River dolphins have the highest levels of chemical pollutant PFAS in the world.

01:48Authorities say the environment has improved with better water quality management.

01:53I think if we look after the habitats, the dolphins will look after themselves.

01:57But a new concern has emerged.

02:01A deadly algal bloom causing a major crisis along parts of South Australia's coast since March

02:07has spread into the Port River.

02:09Authorities believe the bloom doesn't directly affect mammals, but it can threaten their food source.

02:16It's another hazard alongside development and habitat loss.

02:20For somebody that's spent their life trying to protect these dolphins and their habitat that can keep me awake at night.

02:28There are high hopes this resilient pod can overcome the challenges.

02:33Hopefully the population is stabilising and maybe even will recover.

02:41So Australia doesn't lose this unique treasure.

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