“Whale and Seal Season” will be here before we know it and Organisation for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia (ORRCA) is predicting another hectic time for all on the Far South Coast.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The organisation has already responded to a significant amount of whale and dolphin incidents, seal haulouts and gathering marine mammal research data on the South Coast this summer, and we aren’t close to the season.
ORRCA still needs more trained rescuers in Narooma and surrounding areas.
As a result, the organisation will be training volunteers in whale, dolphin, seal and dugong rescue techniques in Narooma on Saturday, February .
ORRCA president Ronny Ling said Australia was a country familiar with whale strandings. Effective rescue procedures took quite a long while to perfect. Even by the mid 1980s few animals could be saved. However, Australia now has a leading role in the development of whale rescue techniques, he said.
“ORRCA has been working with other rescue groups worldwide to ensure that its training methods include the latest techniques, so that we can continue to improve success rates at whale strandings,” Mr Ling said.
ORRCA was leading the way in developing more effective ways to rescue whales and other marine mammals and was the most experienced whale rescue organisation in Australia and works with and assists government agencies at these events, he said.
“Every year ORRCA trains many members of government agencies and its members in marine mammal rescue,” he said.
ORRCA training is a one-day course with theory and lectures in the morning followed by practical exercises in the afternoon.
According to Mr Ling, “the key to success is preparation, our training workshops cover biology, first aid and care as well as practical training for our members to best deal with the unique pressures of a whale stranding incident.”
If you are interested in being involved please call 9415 3333 or visit www.orrca.org.au
