Dolphin Watch App information

Dolphin Watch has taken a leap forward! The old Dolphin Watch app has now been replaced by the new and improved Marine Fauna Sightings App which is now the tool we're using to instantly record observations of dolphins and share these reports with scientists.

For step-by-step instruction on how to download, set up and use the new app for Dolphin Watch surveys and to report your dolphin sightings, watch our new video tutorial here.

Download for Apple or Android.

The App allows users to share dolphin sightings and photos with scientists studying dolphins.

Simplifying traditional data collection, the app improves the quality and flow of information and helps researchers track dolphin movements, identify individual animals, determine key behaviour patterns and provide an early warning system for dolphin entanglements.

The Marine Fauna Sightings App is easy to use and designed to encourage people of all ages and abilities to record sightings of dolphins by using the ‘Make a Report’ icon. Anyone can use this function.

The App is also designed for people who are trained Dolphin Watchers to be able to perform timed surveys of the Swan Canning Riverpark, Peel-Harvey Estuary and Roebuck Bay and contribute that information to scientific research.

The App automatically takes note of the time and location (GPS) of dolphin sightings before uploading that data to the Dolphin Watch database. Surveys performed through the Marine Fauna Sightings app also measure 'effort' (i.e. time spent looking for dolphins and captures presence and absence data) and are delivered to the Dolphin Watch Database where they are merged with data entered through an online monitoring form (online form for Dolphin Watch - Perth only). The data is used for a range of research projects by the organisation and its project partners.

This app was developed in partnership with DPIRD and with input from scientists from Murdoch and Edith Cowan Universities and the River Guardians Dolphin Watch team at the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.

For more information on how you can get involved in the Dolphin Watch project follow this link.

For step-by-step instructions, please download the 'Conduct a Survey' or 'Make a Report' instructions.

To allow scientists to see where you have observed the dolphin/s during your survey, we track your movement through your your mobile phone's GPS. Data collected through the Marine Fauna Sightings app is used purely to help scientists work out survey tracks. Please allow the app to track your movement all the time so that the survey tracking will continue to work even if you lock the screen, make a phone call or are using a different app at the same time. You can review the full privacy statement here.