Marine Mammal Foundation

19/06/2026

Conservation starts with evidence. We generate the evidence needed to protect marine mammals. Your tax-deductible donation helps our scientists collect the data needed to protect dolphins, whales and seals from increasing human pressures.

💻Since Marine Mammal Foundation was established in 2013, we have produced 15 peer-reviewed scientific publications, with each exploring not only the baseline marine mammal research needs, but also using innovative technologies across DNA analysis, toxicology, acoustics, and geospatial mapping!

🐬Importantly each make management and conservation recommendations and highlights impacts that may threaten these amazing creatures in the long-term. We have also attended local and international conferences, presenting our research on the world stage.

💙This is the difference in long-term and published scientific endeavour, it is robust, and is absolutely crucial for effective conservation, management and mitigation.

🔗You can help our research by making a tax-deductible donation this EOFY via the link in comments

18/06/2026

If you missed MMF’s Director of Education Matt on the 88.3 Southern FM Bayside Rotary Radio this week, you can catch up via the podcast.

Thank you to the Brighton North Rotary for inviting us to chat about all things Marine Maammal Foundation, the local Burrunan dolphin, and how our local community can help protect and conserve this amazing species our watery backyard.

🎤Please head to the link in comments listen to the show

17/06/2026

It was a pleasure to be invited to attend the Marine and Coastal Conservation Horizon Scan Workshop yesterday. A fantastic collaborative day, bringing together Traditional Owners, researchers, conservation organisations to explore the priorities for marine and coastal conservation across Victoria’s west coast. Special thanks to the Conservation Ecology Centre, Greater Otway's to Ocean Foundation, and Deakin University for bringing us all together and supporting the event.

16/06/2026

Every Day on the Water Matters. Every sighting, every survey, and every hour on the water helps us better understand and protect marine mammals.

🐬Our researchers have spent hundreds of hours on the water undertaking crucial applied research. In the last financial year alone, our team spent 84 hours on survey, collected 28,235 raw photographic images, deployed passive acoustic monitoring stations, collected eDNA samples, flew the drone, collected water quality measures and samples, and undertook crucial behavioural focal follows.

💻Of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg, as all that data then requires processing back at the office and labs!

💙Marine conservation begins with understanding. To protect marine mammals, we first need to know where they are, how they use their habitat, what threats they face, and how populations are changing over time. That knowledge can only be gained through dedicated field research on the water.

🔗You can help us get out on the water by making a tax-deductible donation this EOFY via the link in comments.

15/06/2026

The MMF Education Team had the pleasure of attending the Department of Education, Victoria Strategic Partnerships Program All Networks Meeting. It was a great day of connecting with other funded organisations and projects, and exploring key Department frameworks to enhance the delivery of MMF’s groundbreaking education programs.

Through our SPP project, Splash into Environmental Science, we are providing our education programs to regional and rural students across Victoria through classroom incursions, online programs in partnership with Emerging Sciences Victoria, and developing and distributing curriculum aligned Environmental Science and Sustainability resources. This All Networks Meeting demonstrated how our project can best align with Curriculum and Teaching and Learning models to better support delivery and student engagement.

To have your school involved in this project, or other MMF education programs, please visit our website, or contact the MMF Education Team today!

https://www.marinemammal.org.au/spp

14/06/2026

13/06/2026

Watch out for whales! On the water or on the land….now is the time to spot whales! Along our coastline you may see humpback whales or southern right whales but how do you tell the difference?

Humpback whales are commonly seen at this time of year on their annual migration north to warmer waters. They are around 15m in length and have long pectoral fins which you can often see splashing around. They have a grey to black colouration on their back, and in the southern hemisphere they typically have white underbellies. Humpbacks also have distinctive pleats on their throats which allow the whale to open their mouths wide to gulp in the water and sieve their prey through baleen plates. They are often seen breaching out of the water in spectacular aerial displays.

Southern right whales are about the same size but have stockier builds and are most recognisable by the white growths on their head known as callosities and their paddle-like pectoral fin. Unlike the humpback whale that have a dorsal fin on their backs, southern right whales lack a dorsal fin! They are filter feeders but have an upside-down mouth! Southern right whales can be seen logging close to shore and in surf breaks.

Check out our ‘Whales’ feature and remember to keep your distance and log your sightings to the Marine Mammal Foundation researchers!

12/06/2026

Your Donation Goes Further with the Marine Mammal Foundation. We are a small, specialist not-for-profit organisation, allowing every dollar to have a meaningful impact. Let’s take a look at the numbers and see the impact we have made in just the last few financial years.

🐬Our researchers spent over 700 hours on the water, collecting 168,480+ images across 144 sightings of the critically endangered Burrunan dolphins, collating over 600 citizen science reports, whilst also supporting numerous research students, volunteers and interns. This research resulted in numerous peer-reviewed scientific publications and conference presentations, alongside our involvement in the review of the Burrunan dolphin listing on the FFG Act, sitting on numerous government working groups, and contributing to reports like the State of Marine and Coastal Environment Report.

🎓Our Education Team delivered over 370 education programs, sharing marine science with 13,150 students. Using hands-on experiences, both in-person and online platforms, our education reach is Australia-wide. Our community reach has also been widespread, hosting 463 events and reaching over 22,400 community members. Communication is key to conservation.

💙Before 30 June, make a gift that helps us better understand, conserve and protect marine mammals and the oceans they call home. Your support helps fund research, education and conservation initiatives that create lasting change.

🔗You can make a tax-deductible donation this EOFY via the link in comments

11/06/2026

This week we kicked off our online ‘Splash Science’ course with Emerging Sciences Victoria at John Monash Science School! Bringing together schools and students from across Victoria, this engaging and interactive program brings MMF Education programs directly into the classroom through the Emerging Sciences online platform - just like watching a live TV science show!

Across 6 lessons, students will be taken on a journey of marine discovery, learning about Victoria’s incredible marine environments and the amazing marine mammals who call it home, species classification, population ecology and ecosystem function, and what we can all do to care care for our local environments.

This program is being supported through the Victorian State Government Department of Education, Victoria Strategic Partnerships Program. Please visit our website to learn how your school can be involved in our Education Programs

https://www.marinemammal.org.au/school-programs

10/06/2026

Check out the latest information signage at Point Nepean National Park featuring some of our local marine mammal species. It was awesome to work with Parks Victoria , providing information and images on our critically endangered Burrunan dolphins and our migratory humpback whales. Remember if you’re at one of the view points along our coastline and see dolphins and whales, you can submit your sighting to the Marine Mammal Foundation to help our researchers gain a better understanding of biodiversity and movement patterns.

🔗Log you sightings via the link in comments