Wave Dancer will host a free workshop facilitated by The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) to learn about protected dolphin species and protecting the Reef on Tuesday 15 September.

The presenter Dr Daniele Cagnazzi has researched dolphins and their health and behaviour in the Great Barrier Reef for many years.

The workshop is part of the Eye on the Reef program which encourages anyone who uses the reef to  report their sightings and observations.  This contribution by the general public helps build their knowledge of reef-wide ecosystem health and resilience and the risks to that resilience, says GBRMPA acting tourism and stewardship director, Dr Roger Beeden.

“The Eye on the Reef programme encourages rangers, tourism operators, researchers, tourists and volunteers to collect valuable information about what they see when they are out on the Reef.

“As part of the workshop, we will be providing training on how to use the Eye on the Reef app to help record reef health, marine animals and incidents. This includes looking for coral bleaching, disease, damage and predation – including crown-of-thorns starfish, as well as recording sightings of protected and iconic marine animals like dolphins and whales,” said Dr Beeden.

The free Eye on the Reef app can be downloaded from iTunes or the Google play app store. There is also a desktop app on the GBRMPA website that can be used to report Reef sightings

“We have developed a number of different tools that allow Reef users to participate in Reef monitoring and to contribute to our database. We are keen to encourage anyone who is interested in the marine environment to come along to the workshop and find out more,” said Dr Beeden.

The workshop will take place from 5.30-8.30pm on Tuesday 15 September on the ‘Wave Dancer’ vessel at the Port Douglas Marina. To find out more, check out our Eye on the Reef information on the GBRMPA website or email eyeonthereef@gbrmpa.gov.au