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Tangalooma Marine Education and Research Foundation

GENERAL INFORMATION

Tangalooma is situated on the western shores of Moreton Island, which forms the eastern coastline of Moreton Bay, southeast Queensland, Australia. The location is on the sheltered waters of the bay, an hour by high-speed launch from the City of Brisbane.

Moreton Island is 38 km long and around 10 km wide and reputably has the highest Coastal sand dune in the world – Mt. Tempest. The island is remote and has no town services. Moreton Island is 98% national park and is surrounded by the waters of the Moreton Bay Marine Park.

Moreton Island and adjacent waters host a diverse assemblage of environments, including Holocene and Pleistocene dune systems, sandy beaches with leeward and seaward exposures, rocky shores and headlands, mangrove and sea grass beds, deep water channels, and fresh water lakes and swamp lands.

The adjacent waters are also the home to Bottlenose and Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphins, turtles, dugongs and open sea species. Moreton Island also has a substantial population of migratory birds that seasonally inhabit remote island habitats.

Also of interest are the Tangalooma Wrecks – 15 ships scuttled to provide a safe anchorage from westerly winds. The Wrecks, only 50m offshore, provide habitat for numerous marine species, including corals, reef fish and sharks.

Tangalooma has an interesting history and was established as a Whaling station which operated from 1952 – 62. It was the largest whaling station in the Southern Hemisphere. Subsequently, new owners converted the whaling station to a modern tourist resort. With its location adjacent to the migratory routes of the humpback whale, Tangalooma Resort operates land and boat-based whale watching from June to October.

Tangalooma is probably best known for the nightly provisioning of a group of 8 wild bottlenose dolphins, by people on the beach adjacent to the Resort’s jetty. This provisioning program commenced in 1992, has been highly studied and is part of a strictly controlled and managed program.

In 1856 the Zoological Society of London published a letter by Fairholme reporting a co-operative hunting arrangement between local dolphins and Aboriginals in South-east Queensland waters. Local Aboriginal legends suggest that this symbiotic arrangement existed for many hundreds (perhaps thousands) of years. Tangalooma is an Aboriginal word meaning “fish meeting place”.

The Tangalooma Marine Education and Research Foundation was established by Tangalooma Wild Dolphin Resort to provide financial and in-kind support for research on the natural systems of Moreton Island, Moreton Bay and surrounds. Grants are available up to $20,000.00 for exceptional projects, although usually consist of values up to $5000.00.

APPLICATION GUIDELINES

Applications must be completed using “The Tangalooma Marine Education and Research Foundation application for support form” and submitted by email only.

Applications for research support are available from the 31st of October each year and should be submitted for consideration by the 15th of December the same calendar year.
Our scientific review committee will then independently assess applications and will advise the following years project funding.
All successful applicants will be informed before 15th February.

All Applications received will be acknowledged by email and no correspondence will be entered into regarding unsuccessful applications.

THE FOUNDATION

The Foundation is a non-profit organisation, which seeks to promote research into marine conservation, education, geomorphology and ecology in the southeast Queensland region. The foundation will give priority to marine vertebrate research in this region although will consider all applications.

ADMINISTRATION

A Board of Trustees governs the Tangalooma Marine Education and Research Foundation. The board will consider funding on the advise of an independent Scientific Research Committee of Australian and overseas scientists that will assess each application submitted.

RESEARCH POLICY

The Tangalooma Marine Education and Research Foundation seeks to encourage and assist marine sciences. For the present it gives priority to projects relating to aspects of the conservation, biology and ecology of marine vertebrates in southeast Queensland waters. The Foundation will only consider applications from researchers and students affiliated with Universities and other such bona fide research institutions.

Each year the Foundation calls for expressions of interest, and a limited number of projects are short-listed on the basis of their high scientific merit and likely contribution to knowledge, conservation, education and management of the marine environment. At the discretion of the Scientific Research Committee, research proposals may be submitted to a specialist external referee (not necessarily within Australia) for evaluation.

The Foundation attempts to fund a number of applications each year. Successful applicants are required to report on the progress of the project every three months electronically, a written report to the research Manager each six months and to produce a final bound report within six months of completion.

In addition to the report, The Foundation requests bound copies of theses and reprints of publications which result from supported projects and acknowledgement of the Foundations support in resulting reports, publications and theses.


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