Marine Conservation Program

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

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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.

Neil the Seal returns to sea 🌊Neil the Seal returned safely to sea last night. This is his natural behaviour and was exp...
09/07/2026

Neil the Seal returns to sea 🌊

Neil the Seal returned safely to sea last night. This is his natural behaviour and was expected. Neil may return or haul out at another location.

The Marine Conservation Program is currently monitoring the situation and the local area.

If anyone sees Neil, please contact the marine mammal hotline on 0427 WHALES (0427 942 537).

Please remember:
• Stay at least 20 metres away from Neil
• Keep dogs on a lead at least 50 metres away
• Do not touch, feed, or approach the seal
• Avoid blocking the seal’s access to the water

Thanks everyone for helping keep Neil safe.

NRE Tas is continuing to lead a coordinated multi-agency response with the City of Clarence and other stakeholders to ma...
09/07/2026

NRE Tas is continuing to lead a coordinated multi-agency response with the City of Clarence and other stakeholders to manage Neil’s presence in the community.

This includes traffic management and road closures to keep Neil safe.

Remember, if you do encounter Neil 🦭
• Stay at least 20 metres away
• Keep dogs on a leash and at least 50 metres away
• Ensure Neil always has a clear path back to the water
• Follow any safety or traffic management measures that are in place

Neil’s visit is a reminder that Tasmania is home to remarkable wildlife.

We encourage anyone who sees Neil to apply common sense and remember that he is a wild southern elephant seal and not a tourist attraction, pet or photo opportunity.

To find out more about the road closures keeping Neil safe, visit: https://www.ccc.tas.gov.au/notice/road-closure-status-due-to-neil-the-seal/

NRE Tas Marine Conservation staff have received a report about an entangled whale.The southern right whale was seen earl...
04/07/2026

NRE Tas Marine Conservation staff have received a report about an entangled whale.

The southern right whale was seen earlier this morning offshore from Fortescue Bay.

The direction of travel is unknown, however, given the time of year it is expected to be travelling north.

Members of the public are asked to keep an eye out for this whale and report any sighting immediately to the whale hotline on 0427 WHALES (0427 942 537).

Anyone who sees the whale is requested to accurately record its location and direction of travel, then contact the hotline for further advice. Where it is safe to do so, please take photographs or video.
This information will inform a response and rescue team being deployed.

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

You may have seen wildlife staff working to keep Neil the seal and the community safe.Neil is now a subadult and around ...
25/06/2026

You may have seen wildlife staff working to keep Neil the seal and the community safe.
Neil is now a subadult and around 1000kg, which is around the size of a large bull 🐂 Although he may look placid and friendly, Neil is a large powerful wild animal. He can be unpredictable and is capable of causing significant injury if people get too close or provoke a reaction.

Like many teenagers, Neil is determined to test boundaries and make his own rules. As he grows and his behaviour changes, wildlife experts are using adaptive management adjusting their approach in real time to respond to Neil’s movements, development and the situations he encounters. This helps keep both Neil and the community safe.

Play your part in keeping Neil happy by:
• Listening to the advice and respecting the expertise of the wildlife experts on site. Remember, they are there to help Neil.
• Follow the directions from NRE Tas, Police and Council, including any traffic detours in place.
• Keep your distance! Stay at least 20m away (or 6 Neil’s away).
• Dogs to be kept on leashes and at least 50m away.
• Don’t try to engage or get Neil’s attention — he might think you want to play.

To report a sighting or concerns about behaviour around the seal, call the marine mammal hotline on 0427 WHALES (0427 942 537).

Read more about safe seal watching: https://nre.tas.gov.au/wildlife-management/seal-watching-guidelines

Did you know the shy albatross is unique to Tasmania, breeding exclusively on three remote offshore islands.This remarka...
19/06/2026

Did you know the shy albatross is unique to Tasmania, breeding exclusively on three remote offshore islands.

This remarkable seabird lays only one egg per year and can travel up to 1000 kilometres in a single day.

The shy albatross is a threatened species and faces growing challenges in our oceans.

Like many seabirds, their numbers are affected by threats such as accidental capture in fishing gear, along with pollution and climate impacts.

Marine Conservation Program staff and our partners have been studying shy albatross for decades by monitoring populations and improving protections to help reduce risks at sea.

By learning more and supporting conservation efforts, we can help ensure these iconic birds continue to soar over Tasmanian waters for generations to come.

The Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre (TAC) recently partnered with the Marine Conservation Program (MCP) and the Institute fo...
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

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

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Hobart, TAS
7001

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