Sarge the Bottlenose Dolphin

On Thursday, February 5th, we were treated to a pod of bottlenose dolphins as we headed out to Seal Rocks near Cowries Beach.

Our crew captured several photos of the pod, and with the help of Dr Sue Mason, we were able to document a significant sighting. At least two Port Phillip dolphins were identified from the images, matching dolphins catalogued by Paola Lacetera and Dr Sue Mason.

One of the dolphins was Sarge, easily recognised by the chunky, jagged notches along her dorsal fin. She’s a well known dolphin from the Polperro dolphin swims, and was also spotted in Port Phillip by Troy Muir around three weeks ago.

Sarge has been documented in Port Phillip for many years. She was recorded with a calf in 2010, again with a young calf in October 2022, and just last week we observed her with another calf. It’s wonderful to see her still thriving after more than 15 years.

The second dolphin identified was PPBD-014, another long term Port Phillip resident, documented since 2012.

Sightings like this highlight the importance of fin ID at sea and how we can contribute to resarch and better understand these incredible animals.