Wild dolphin released back into natural habitat following rescue and rehabilitation on the Gold Coast

Marine experts say a medical procedure conducted on the Gold Coast could have global ramifications for dolphin populations.See more >

MARINE experts say a medical procedure conducted on the Gold Coast could have global ramifications for dolphin populations.

Dr Claire Madden, Natalie Sands and Wayne Phillips at Sea World following the rescue, rehabilitation and release of a young dolphin off the coast of Moreton Bay. Picture: Ashleigh Jansen

Hailed a first for this century, Sea World veterinarian Dr Claire Madden successfully anesthetised and operated on a wild dolphin.

“It’s going to revolutionise our approach to entangled dolphins around the world – is the first time it’s been done to this extent,” Dr Madden said.

The procedure followed a complicated rescue on March 16 which saw a juvenile female dolphin entangled in fishing line off Harry Atkinson artificial reef on Moreton Bay.

The rescue involved 27 people, six vessels and a subsequent six weeks of rehabilitation.

“The reason we brought her in was so I could fix that damage to her dorsal fin,” Dr Madden said.

“Using the anaesthesia we were able to amputate the top of that dorsal fin and reset it to fix the damage that fishing line caused.

“Wild dolphin anaesthesia is quite a challenging procedure – we don’t know much about the animals and historically we’ve been quite nervous to anesthetise this species.

“We now have more understanding of this species, vet medicine has advanced and so we elected to go ahead and we got the outcome we were striving for.”

The dolphin was identified February 6 with a fishing line entanglement from recreational fishing. Sea World Head of Marine Sciences Wayne Phillips said the wild marine animal was monitored for a week as the initial entanglement was not considered life threatening.

“Unfortunately she continued to engage herself further so we along with Queensland Park and Wildlife Services (QPWS) thought it was in her best interest to intervene,” Mr Phillips said.

The dolphin was released back into her natural habitat Monday April 17.

“Not all these rescues go to plan so it was nice to have a successful outcome for all of us,” Mr Phillips said.

Sea World release of a young dolphin off the coast of Moreton Bay, Gold Coast April 17 2023. Picture: Supplied

QPWS regional standings co-ordinator Natalie Sands said the life-altering injuries were a likely result of illegal feeding and urged the public to give marine life their space.

“Please reel in your lines, don’t discard your bait or any other fish when there’s dolphins around, consider moving to a different location and leave them be to hunt naturally,” Ms Sands said.

Originally published as Wild dolphin released back into natural habitat following rescue and rehabilitation on the Gold Coast