Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary

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Overview

The Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary is an initiative of the South Australian State Government to work with the community and industry to create and manage a sanctuary for the dolphins of the Port Adelaide River and Barker Inlet - and, at the same time, create a better environment for everyone who uses the area.

The Port Adelaide River and Barker inlet area is valuable to South Australia - environmentally, economically and socially. The area is used by many people for a diverse range of activities. These activities and such intensive use and demands have resulted in many changes over the past 150 years. South Australia's need for an area with a working port, diverse industry, power generation, waste and stormwater management and for recreation have all contributed to environmental changes resulting in chemical and thermal pollution, introduced marine pests, litter and excess nutrients in the water.

In addition to this, the area is also home to a population of bottlenose dolphins. About 250 dolphins have been identified in and around the area, with around 30 of these considered to be permanent residents.

To reduce these impacts and to protect the dolphins and their habitat, the South Australian Government established the Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary.

'A better environment for the dolphins is a better environment for us all.'

How it all began

The establishment of a dolphin sanctuary for the Port Adelaide River and Barker Inlet dolphins was proposed by members of the local community because of concerns about the safety of the dolphins and the quality of their environment.

Extensive consultation to determine how this sanctuary might be established confirmed the strong desire in the general community to protect dolphins and the natural area where they live. To achieve this protection, specific legislation was proposed to establish the Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary, including coordinating the range of Government activities in the area to a common set of conservation goals.

The Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary Act 2005 was proclaimed in June 2005.

See Legislation & Annual Reports page for more information on the Act

Although there are several other government sponsored dolphin reserves in the world, none of them address the issues and integrate the range of activities to the extent provided by this legislation. As the Government and community work together to develop the Sanctuary, the rest of the world will be watching to learn from our experience.