Coast SWaP Events

09.10.2010 10:00 - 10.10.2010 17:00
South West Beach Clean Up

Dunsborough Coast and Landcare

- Written by South West Catchments Council, 2009 -

Overview

The Dunsborough Coast and Landcare (D-CALC) has been established for ten years and initially formed in response to coastal erosion and development on the Dunsborough foreshore. Since then the group has put their energy into a wide range of projects spanning the surrounding local township and catchment area, including Cape Naturaliste.

Chairman Ron Glencross has been involved since D-CALC’s inception and his background experience as an agricultural scientist has assisted the group’s ability to plan and carry out many successful projects. These include possum, bird and flora surveys, pest and weed control, water care and several rehabilitation projects. The group has also developed management plans for all ten reserves in Dunsborough which have been approved by the Busselton Shire council.

Photo: Dugalup Brook before rehabilitation (RNGlencross, D-CALC)

 

Partnerships

Partnerships with other local groups and organizations have been integral to the effectiveness of D-CALC’s operations. Joint projects have been carried out with other local NRM groups such as Toby Inlet Catchment Group, Friends of Peron Reserve, Geographe Community Landcare Nursery and Meelup Regional Park Management Committee. Funding and planning assistance has been provided by various organizations including GeoCatch, Department of Environment and Conservation, Department of Water, CSIRO and the Busselton Shire Council. Local Green Corps teams have also provided valuable labour for bush and stream regeneration.

Photo: Dugalup Brook after rehabilitation (RNGlencross, D-CALC)

Project Focus - Whale migration monitoring in Geographe Bay
The main objective of this program is to identify species, populations and trends of migrating whales in Geographe Bay. It is also hoped that the information gathered will assist in developing management plans for tourism and recreational use so they do not impact on the whales’ migration patterns. The whale monitoring program focuses on land based observation points situated at Point Piquet, Meelup. With 180 degree views reaching 5 km out to sea, the area offers a unique opportunity to spot whales less than one kilometre offshore. Situated at the northernmost part of Cape Naturaliste, the sea floor drops rapidly allowing for the close passage of whales, forming part of their southern migration corridor. They return to the Antarctic feeding grounds after spending time breeding and calving in the North West Kimberly region.

Each year between September and December volunteers are rostered on to collate data on the migrating whales. They are trained to identify different types of whales such as Humpback and Blue whales and record weather conditions, pod numbers, distance from shore and the whales’ behaviour such as breaching, slapping, rolling or lunging. During the monitoring period over 500 hours of observation time is carried out by approximately 20 dedicated volunteers, who are rostered on in two to six hour periods.

Ron Glencross, chairman of D-CALC used his scientific background to set up the land based program in 2005 in conjunction with Chris Burton from Western Whale Research (WWR). WWR have been conducting aerial and sea based surveys since 1994 and all the data is collated together to gain a better understanding of these great cetaceans’ movements and numbers, particularly blue whales. Very little is known (it was not known that blue whales came into Geographe Bay before these studies commenced) about their migratory and behaviour patterns, and their population numbers remain low.

Volunteer observing whalesSince this consistent data has been recorded, it is known that between 100 and 150 blue whales travel south through the bay each year, compared to 750 - 1000 Humpback whales in the same timeframe. Geographe Bay is now recognized as a seasonally important area for blue whale migration. Many whales have been photographed at such close range so they can be identified by their individual colourings and markings. Ron and Chris both agree that with only 4 years of observation, significant comparisons cannot be made and to gain definite trends the studies need to be continued for up to 20 years. Other research from different areas will also be examined to gauge a percentage of the total population of migrating whales that come into Geographe Bay.

Photo: Volunteer observing whales (RNGlencross, D-CALC)

Funding for the program is limited, recent grants of $1000 from Western Whale Research and $3000 from the Australian Government’s Voluntary Grants Program have been allocated. D-CALC has used this funding to assist with volunteer transport costs and some administration and stationary expenses. However the program is still heavily reliant on volunteer efforts. During the observation period, Ron Glencross spends up to 5 days a week training volunteers, managing rosters, monitoring and collating data. He believes that the data entry and collation of over 500 hours of observation records is the most time consuming and is planning to seek funding for data entry and administration in the future.

The group is thankful of in-kind support from local organizations such as Naturaliste Charters who offer discount bookings to reward volunteers for their time.
 
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