Dolphin Marine Magic Dolphin Marine Magic News

zooboy28 · 11 May 2015

Dolphin Marine Magic is a small marine park in Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, which features dolphins, seals and various other wildlife. Hix reviewed it here: http://www.zoochat.com/24/coffs-harbour-pet-porpoise-pool-213487/. The park appears to have been in the news a bit lately, being targeted by the group Australia for Dolphins following the airing of an ABC children's TV show, Blue Zoo, which was filmed at the park. Subsequent investigations were conducted by the NSW Department of Primary Industries, which appears to have become a bit of a political scandal.

Story here: Cookies must be enabled. | The Australian

STAFF of NSW Primary Industries Minister Katrina Hodg*kinson have accused a fellow Nationals MP of getting his facts wrong when he told parliament the minister had swum with dolphins at a marine park — a move which bends her department’s own regulations.

Coffs Harbour member *Andrew Fraser told parliament in August that Ms Hodgkinson and her family went swimming with the dolphins at Dolphin Marine Magic in September 2013 — less than year before her department granted the park a new *licence which included a “variation” *on the number of dolphins allowed to be kept in one pool.

Now, after an 11,000-strong petition demanding action on the conditions at the Coffs Harbour park, and a complaint — against “intensive human contact and  animal rides” — the department has launched an investigation.

Mr Fraser told parliament that Ms Hodgkinson’s family made a trip to the park on September 19 last year. “Her children were with her for the weekend and they all took the opportunity to swim with the dolphins,” he said.

But when asked about the comments, Ms Hodgkinson’s chief of staff, Paul Terrett, said Mr Fraser had his facts wrong.

“It was only her two kids — she didn’t go for a swim,” he said.

The Department’s of Primary Industries’ standards for exhibiting bottle-nosed dolphins in NSW says human contact with dolphins “shall be kept to a minimum and shall be carried out as quickly and carefully as possible”, that “contact by the public shall only be permitted on veterinary advice”, and, “in particular, precautions must be taken to prevent visitors transmitting any pathogens”.

Founder of Australia for Dolphins Sarah Lucas, whose organisation issued the complaint, said while swimming with the dolphins did go against department standards, Mr Fraser’s revelation also brought into question its *decision to grant the variation.

“(The department) allowed Dolphin Marine Magic to operate in violation of the law at the *expense of the animals. Now we find out the responsible minister and her family were entertained at the park, so there has to be a question as to how objective (its) decision was,” Ms Lucas said.

“We would like DPI to assess any possible breaches at Dolphin Marine Magic and to be open in communicating these breaches with the public.”

A spokeswoman for the minister said the “DPI takes all complaints against animal exhibitors very seriously and all complaints are investigated by skilled DPI *inspectors”.

“Under the standards, contact by the public shall only be permitted on veterinary advice and only in the presence and under supervision of an adequate number of experienced, uniformed staff,” she said. “Dolphin Marine Magic employs a veterinarian.”

The Australian shone the spotlight on the park last month, revealing the ABC had spent taxpayers’ money co-producing the ABC3 show Blue Zoo, which features four local and four Irish teenagers training at the park to be “marine experts” by teaching bottle*-nosed dolphins to perform a show. The show also features Bucky, allegedly the oldest dolphin in captivity.
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zooboy28 · 11 May 2015

As Dolphin Marine Magic is a member of ZAA, the industry association has released the following two statements on the investigations. Its not entirely clear why these statements have been released so long after the initial allegations, although the investigation by NSW DPI appears to be ongoing (Cookies must be enabled. | The Australian).

4 May 2015
The Zoo and Aquarium Association (ZAA) has received a list of allegations in relation to a member organisation, Dolphin Marine Magic. These allegations question whether their marine facilities comply with NSW government standards for exhibited animals, and also raise potential concerns about the welfare of marine mammals at the facility.

The Association takes any suggestion of compromised animal welfare or breaches to our relevant codes very seriously. ZAA has commenced a full investigation into all allegations raised.

The Association can confirm that it is checking with Department of Primary Industries New South Wales on the status of its assessment, and is in communication with Dolphin Marine Magic in regard to the other allegations. Dolphin Marine Magic remains licenced under NSW legislation to exhibit animals.
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11 May 2015
The Zoo and Aquarium Association has been provided with formal confirmation issued by the Department of Primary Industries New South Wales that: “The primary pool volume at Dolphin Marine Magic…complies with the requirements for six (6) dolphins prescribed by Clause 2.4.4 d) i of the Standards for Exhibiting Bottle-nosed Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in New South Wales.“
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Jabiru96 · 15 Dec 2015

The youngest dolphin at Dolphin Marine Magic (a male named Ji-Ling) died in October: Youngest dolphin at Marine Magic dies | Coffs Coast Advocate

Jabiru96 · 30 Dec 2015

The CEO of Dolphin Marine Magic has defended the park after former NSW premier Bob Carr has called for change in legislation to stop the keeping of dolphins in captivity in Australia (he also targeted Sea World Gold Coast):

Back off Bob - Dolphin Marine Magic defends reputation | Coffs Coast Advocate

DOLPHIN Marine Magic management has hit back at former NSW Premier Bob Carr's calls for a change in legislation "to end dolphin captivity" in Australia.

Targeting Dolphin Marine Magic and Sea World, Mr Carr has joined a campaign run by advocacy organisation Australia For Dolphins which is calling for the permanent closure of both dolphin parks.

In comments made to The Australian, Mr Carr said he did not believe the parks could be classed as family entertainment and that it was "extremely cruel to breed dolphins for a life of captivity".

Dolphin Marine Magic chief executive Paige Sinclair said the campaign was unfounded and defied findings of recent reviews of the park by the State Government.

"Mr Carr clearly doesn't understand the work we do or Sea World's and to my knowledge has never been to the park," Ms Sinclair said.

"We've had an investigation by the Department of Primary Industries, the Zoo and Aquarium Association and the RSPCA and they have all given us a tick in the box.

"Every investigation has proven we do the best possible care to best practice available - why is Mr Carr not acknowledging that?"

In his comments this week, Mr Carr also backed a review of legislation which allows dolphinariums to permanently house dolphins which are born in captivity.

The law forms part of tougher legislation implemented during Mr Carr's terms as the state's Minister for Environment in the 1980s that resulted in three dolphinariums closing down.

Ms Sinclair, however, said the closure of the park would be impossible and would pose risks to the scope of conservation work undertaken.

"We never keep an animal if it can be released," she said.

"The animals we have now can't be released - they don't know anything about hunting or protecting themselves.

"The likelihood of a sea sanctuary is not a good option - we still have to feed them and ultimately it costs money to do that."

Ms Sinclair said she encouraged Mr Carr to visit the park to see the results for himself.

"Everybody is entitled to their own opinion but it's just sad they push it on other people," she said.

"Mr Carr clearly hasn't seen the good work we do with the rehabilitation, rescue and release that would be compromised if we closed."
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Jabiru96 · 12 Jan 2016

Another article related to the matter:

Conservationists continue efforts to close Coffs Harbour's Dolphin Marine Magic - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

The former NSW Premier Bob Carr has thrown his support behind a campaign to end dolphin captivity in Australia.

The Australia For Dolphins "Show's Over" campaign is initially targeting the Coffs Harbour 'Dolphin Marine Magic' park.

The group's spokeswoman Angie Plummer said a clause has been left out of the current state legislation which lets dolphins born in captivity, be kept in captivity.

She said the laws must be tightened.

"This isn't the first time that politics has become involved in the issue," she said.

"In 1985 there was an Australian Senate report that found that captive dolphins in Australia suffer extreme stress and behavioural abnormalities.

"It recommended that dolphin captivity be shut down and here we are 30 years later still breeding dolphins for entertainment.

"So Bob Carr has come on to try and help us amend that."

Miss Plummer said she would like to see the Coffs Harbour park close, where animals perform for tourists in chlorinated pools.

"The Show's Over campaign aims to introduce legislation starting in NSW where the controversial Dolphin Marine Magic park is located, to end dolphin captivity in Australia," she said.

"We are hoping to phase out the use of dolphins in entertainment and start a more humane approach.

"That would involve introducing wild 'sea pens' where dolphins can be rehabilitated."

Management of Coffs Harbour's Dolphin Marine Magic said the push for wild sea pens needs more thought.

Chief Executive Officer Paige Sinclair said most animals live happily in captivity.

She said it is difficult to know who would pay for the sea pens.

"Sea pens would be a great idea if someone was willing to fund it," she said.

"A sea pen is going to cost millions of dollars you still need people to look after these animals, feed them, care for them and how's all that going to be funded.

"The other problem with sea pens is you have no control over the environment if there's an oil spill or pollution in the area or algae blooms you have absolutely no control over the environment for these animals."

Ms Sinclair said she would like Bob Carr to inspect the Coffs Harbour operation.

"I haven't spoken with Mr Carr and I don't believe he's come to the park," she said.

"I would invite him to come to the park and have a look and see what we do.

"He's only got one side of the story and as we know there's always three sides, there's somewhere in middle which is what I am going to call compromise."
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Jabiru96 · 24 Mar 2016

An animal protection group, 'Australia for Dolphins', has targeted Dolphin Marine Magic with a large-scale advertising campaign on local buses: Bus campaign targets local marine park | Coffs Coast Advocate

Jabiru96 · 24 Mar 2016

In more positive news, two hawksbill turtles and four green sea turtles have been released back into the ocean after rehabilitation: Turtles returned to ocean after magical rehab trip | Grafton Daily Examiner

Jabiru96 · 18 Apr 2016

English actor Ricky Gervais has backed the anti-captivity side: Nocookies | The Australian

Jabiru96 · 22 Aug 2016

An application to build a new sea lion enclosure (reported as 'seals' in the article) has been approved: Green light for seal enclosure despite dolphin death | Chinchilla News

WhistlingKite24 · 21 Nov 2019

Dolphin Marine Magic’s (now called Dolphin Marine Conservation Park) oldest Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin, Bucky died in July of this year at the age of 49. He fathered three surviving offspring. This leaves the park with 2.2 dolphins (the youngest born in December 2009).
Vale Bucky

WhistlingKite24 · 16 Dec 2019

Dolphin Marine Magic has welcomed a male Australian Sea Lion pup.
It's a boy

WhistlingKite24 · 9 Jun 2020

Calamity, one of Dolphin Marine Magic’s Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphins has died during a veterinary procedure at the estimated age of 40. The park only has three (2.1) dolphins left - Jet, Bella and Zippy.

Much loved Coffs Harbour dolphin, Calamity, sadly passed away on Tuesday morning, 2nd June. She was estimated to be 40 years old.

Calamity was Dolphin Marine Conservation Park’s (DMCP) oldest cetacean and long-time partner of Bucky, who passed away 10 months earlier, aged 50.

A rescue dolphin, Calamity was saved twice from fishing line entanglement. The second time she was badly injured with 15 metres of discarded line wrapped around her tail fluke. It was believed that she was around 8-10 years old at the time. Given her history and the extent of her injuries, Calamity was deemed unreleasable and remained under care at her new home in DMCP.

Calamity died during a procedure to treat a suspected cancerous carcinoma in her mouth. Sadly she did not survive the operation. A necropsy revealed the cancerous growths had spread to her lungs and lymph nodes.

In-house Vet, Dr Duan March, said, “Advanced cancer, along with her age, meant that Calamity was unable to fight both the disease and the stresses of the operation.”

Remarkably, Calamity surpassed the average 30-year life span of dolphins in the wild. As a rescue dolphin, she was an adored ambassador for conservation. She twice survived a human hazard that takes the lives of hundreds of marine mammals every year. Even at her advanced age Calamity still participated in the education programs spreading her inspirational story.

Discarded fishing line is a preventable killer and DMCP partners with Melbourne Zoo in the 'Seal the Loop' program to raise awareness and reduce dangerous waste materials in the ocean.

“Calamity will be greatly missed by everyone at DMCP, especially her trainers. Everyone involved with her enjoyed an extraordinary connection with this truly amazing animal,” said Managing Director, Terry Goodall.

DMCP continues its unwavering dedication to the care and well-being of all the animals at the park during this difficult time including the rest of Calamity’s pod comprising Zippy, Bella and Jet.
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Marine park mourns Calamity

WhistlingKite24 · 15 Jun 2020

According to this article, there are plans to place the park's last three Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphins into a sea pen in collaboration with animal-rights groups, Action for Dolphins and World Animal Protection.

Full story: Captive dolphin death at tourist attraction sparks calls for move to sea pen sanctuary

Calamity's death has sparked calls from animal rights activists to release the remaining dolphins as soon as possible into a sea pen sanctuary.

Jordan Sosnowski from Action For Dolphins has partnered with the park and World Animal Protection to construct a sea pen on the Coffs Coast.

She said engineering and animal welfare assessments have shown promising results the sanctuary is a feasible concept.

Dr Isabella Clegg's research into the behaviour of dolphins at the park will form part of the feasibility study into moving captive dolphins to a sea pen at Coffs Harbour.

But Ms Sosnowski said the main "stumbling block" would be acquiring federal and state funding to make the dolphin sanctuary a reality.

She said it was not as simple as releasing the remaining dolphins back into the ocean.

Dolphin Marine Conservation Park managing director Terry Goodall said Calamity's death would not stop the park from rescuing and rehabilitating marine animals.

"Hopefully you don't have to keep them, you can let them go," he said.

"That would be one of the great things about a sea pen."

For now, Mr Goodall said the park was dedicated to ensure the welfare and care of the last three dolphins was "beyond reproach".

The park said it planned to reopen to the public next week.
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toothlessjaws · 15 Jun 2020

This is slightly off-topic, but its always astounded me that none of the besieged cetacean-keeping theme parks or aquariums (especially the US Seaworld) hasn't percieved the shift in public attitudes as just an opportunity to just present their animals in a very different way.

Many of these attractions are built on waterfronts and could utilise sea pens or create much larger, naturally-fed saltwater lakes that are still part of their parks. I can't help but feel a proposal to do this would be seen as a positive by local councils. These animals can continue to breed and even perform shows (at their pleasure) but be kept in a much more naturalistic and healthy environment. I have no doubt that the animals would still be a very profitable attraction. In fact possibly more profitable given how many people must be boycotting their parks these days.

Even at the extreme end of the spectrum of options: if the animals were moved to sea pens in a new location with the eventual aim for release, I can't help but feel someone such as Seaworld could make an attraction out of it. It's far from certain the animals will regain their wild instincts and leave the area and a group of human fed, habituated orcas or dolphins would still be absolutely something worth seeing.

It seems a shame to me that the options always defer to the extreme. At the one end you have theme parks and aquariums that continue to argue its okay to keep cetaceans as if they are goldfish in (relatively) tiny concrete tanks and the other end its an argument to stop keeping them captive entirely and let the last generation live out there days in sea pens.

There is another solution here.

WhistlingKite24 · 16 Jul 2020

Dolphin Marine Magic's only Green Sea Turtle, Plugga has moved to SEA LIFE Sydney. This individual has been at the park since 1990 and only has three flippers. I'm glad she has been moved to a larger facility.

Full story: Three-flippered turtle swims on

Coffs Harbour’s charismatic Australian Green Sea Turtle is moving to a new home.Plugga was rescued as a wild hatchling in 1990 and came into Dolphin Marine Conservation Park’s care missing a flipper. She was found washed up on the beach with most of her right-rear flipper missing, likely the result of a predatory attack.

Plugga was only the size of a fifty-cent coin and as a result of her injuries deemed unreleasable. Despite her handicap, she has spent her life swimming, feasting on the best quality fruits and vegetables, and lapping up the admiration of everyone who meets her. Now, 30 years on and 70 cm wide and 75 cm long, it is time for her to move to a larger facility where she can continue to grow and thrive.

Dolphin Marine Conservation Park works closely with SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium and as a result of this strong relationship, Plugga will move to her new home in Sydney this week.

“While our team are very sad to see Plugga go they know she will be given the expert care she deserves in a facility that has the appropriate space for an animal of her size,” said Terry Goodall, Managing Director of Dolphin Marine Conservation Park.
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WhistlingKite24 · 19 Oct 2020

Dolphin Marine Magic have announced the arrival of three Little Penguin chicks. A few posts from their Facebook page:

15th October:

***BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENT*** Bonnie and Sam are proud to announce the arrival of a new chick Born just 5 weeks ago, our team have named the adorable little fluff ball Clyde (a nod to Bonnie ) or Carol (because it's a funny name for a penguin ) Interestingly, we can't tell the sex of the chick yet until we get the results of a blood test, due soon. We'll keep you posted. Tell us what you think, boy or girl? Plus we'll have some more penguin news to share soon #penguins #DolphinMarineConservationPark #CoffsHarbour #BabyAnimals
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18th October:

Double trouble? Introducing Penguin Twins from proud parents Lucy and Devito. We can't tell their sex yet so please stay tuned for the big reveals and names! Chicks and parents doing well! #DolphinMarineConservationPark #CoffsHarbour #Penguins #LoveNSW
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Dolphin Marine Conservation Park

WhistlingKite24 · 10 Oct 2021

A Hawksbill Turtle is now on display. He is a rescued animal that was discovered to be blind so he will be living at the park for the remainder of his days. Information from their social media.

WhistlingKite24 · 3 Aug 2022

A male Australian Sea Lion pup has been born at Dolphin Marine Magic to female Miri. According to their website this gives them about 11 Australian Sea Lions which is a significant contribution for the managed population.

Source: 7NEWS Coast

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1031316334214853

WhistlingKite24 · 23 Jul 2023

The park has entered voluntary administration. A fundraising campaign has been launched with widespread attention already gaining momentum: Popular dolphin park faces uncertain future as COVID, floods, fires and rate rises take a toll

WhistlingKite24 · 22 Mar 2024

A male Australian Sea Lion pup has been born to female Adelaide (who is a wild-born animal) at the recently renamed Coffs Coast Wildlife Sanctuary. The pup was born in early February and is the sanctuary's 20th sea-lion pup, sustaining a significant portion of the regional population for the species: Coffs Coast Wildlife Sanctuary Celebrates Birth of Male Seal Pup on International Day of the Seal - Coffs Coast Wildlife Sanctuary

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