Dolphins are truly fascinating marine animals. They can be found in all oceans of the earth and some species even live in big rivers like the Amazon! Dolphins are very social animals and often live in big groups that are called pods. These pods can have up to hundreds of members and they engage in hunting efforts together. Their social and playful nature is also the reason that dolphins can often be seen playing with each other and engaging with other marine animals and even small boats. This is just one of their fascinating and endearing traits. If you want to help to protect these highly intelligent animals you should become a dolphin conservation volunteer!

As a volunteer, you will be helping to protect dolphins from the many dangers they face, along with plenty other jobs. To name just one example, getting involved in monitoring and research projects is a very important part of the work. There is much that we have yet to learn about these majestic marine animals, wherefore research is important and needs to be carried out on a large scale.

If marine conservation is one of your passions and you have a special interest in dolphin conservation, you have definitely come to the right place. Read on to find out what your job as a dolphin conservation volunteer is going to entail and where the different projects are located. You will quickly find out that volunteering at a dolphin conservation project abroad can be incredibly rewarding and that you will learn a lot about yourself as well. In what follows, we would like to give you an overview of dolphin conservation projects worldwide and of the tasks, the volunteering work will include.

The worldwide dolphin population has been shrinking continuously over the past decades, but you can become active and do your part to stop this development if you decide to volunteer abroad. As most dolphin conservation projects do not receive a lot of funding from the governments, your help will be even more appreciated. Through your hands-on voluntary work, you will be able to make a difference on a direct and local scale.

Why are dolphins endangered?

Dolphin conservation is part of a large body of marine conservation work around the world. The focus lies on the research of the dolphins’ habitat and behavior to develop ways to protect them from the many threats they are facing, such as:

• rising water levels due to climate change
• pollution of the oceans
• unregulated hunting
• overfishing causing food depletion and bycatch of dolphins
• continuously growing number of boats and ships

What dolphin species are there?

Depending on where your dolphin conservation volunteer work is going to take you, you will find yourself watching and monitoring different kinds of dolphin species. In fact, there are more than 40 different kinds of dolphins around the world and most of them are considered endangered. While most of these dolphins call the ocean their home, there are also some dolphin species that live in rivers, like the pink dolphins that can be found in the Amazon. However, river dolphin conservation projects are a rare occurrence. Instead, you will likely come across the following dolphin species during your time as a dolphin conservation volunteer:

• Amazon River Dolphin
• Atlantic Spotted Dolphin
• Bottlenose Dolphin
• Common Dolphin
• Frasers Dolphin
• Humpback Dolphin
• Long-beaked Common Dolphin
• Pantropical Spotted Dolphin
• Rissos Dolphin
• Rough Toothed Dolphin
• Short-beaked Common Dolphin
• Spinner Dolphin
• Striped Dolphin

It is important to know that some projects that specialize in marine conservation do not only involve dolphin conservation but include whale and shark conservation as well. This means that you could get to work with a variety of marine animals apart from dolphins, like killer whales, humpback whales and many more, depending on your program choice.

As volunteering in dolphin conservation means that you will be stationed somewhere near the ocean, you will get the opportunity to take in everything the ocean has to offer during your free time. From snorkeling to swimming or just chilling on the beach, being close to the ocean means that you will get to enjoy yourself outside of your research and volunteer work.

Many of the current projects are located in Africa, either on the Atlantic or the Indian coast. Tanzania and Mozambique, for example, offer a vast array of marine life which makes them every marine biologist’s dream. You might be surprised to hear that South Africa isn’t only great for watching animals on safari, but also in the sea. Located halfway between Cape Town and Port Elizabeth, the Plettenberg Bay is the ideal spot to observe various species of dolphins and other marine mammals. That’s why multiple projects with different focus have their research centers here. Plettenberg Bay is also part of the famous Garden Route, which makes it great for hiking and discovering the nature in your free time.

This might come as a surprise, but the second focus area for dolphin conservation is the Mediterranean Sea and hence Europe. You have the choice between various projects here, for example

• on Ischia island off the Italian coast
• on small Greek islands in the Aegean Sea
• or on the coast of Croatia

The dolphins you will get to observe here are mostly striped dolphins, bottlenose dolphins, Risso’s dolphins and -if you’re lucky- short-beaked common dolphins. The island of Tenerife that belongs to Spain is located off the northwestern coast of Africa in the Atlantic Ocean. For this reason, the number of dolphin species is even bigger here and you also have good chances to spot killer whales and giant blue whales.

The kind of work that you will be doing as a dolphin conservation volunteer depends on the project that you decide to sign up for. You can find detailed information about the tasks in each program on the program pages and contact the program coordinator for additional questions. In the following, we will give you an overview of all the different tasks you can expect to be doing when you join a dolphin conservation project.

Your tasks as a volunteer

Most likely, observing the dolphins will be one of your main tasks. Additionally, most of the projects focus on research and monitoring, as there is still a lot to discover about these stunning creatures of the sea. As part of a larger marine conservation effort, researchers are studying dolphins and their behavior in different situations. This research can help us understand what role dolphins play in the overall maritime ecosystem and how to protect them better in the future. Generally speaking though, you can expect the following tasks:

• undertaking important observation and monitoring work
• taking photographs of the dolphins
• interacting with the tourists and raising awareness
• going on coastal expeditions in search of dolphins feeding
• working with the collected data

Please keep in mind that your dolphin conservation work is always going to depend on the current weather conditions. If the sea is rough, you might not be able to execute your usual tasks or go on a boat to observe the dolphins for days or even weeks. During this time you will spend your days in the office and take care of other tasks instead. For example, you might have to make phone calls, engage potential donors, and work on educating tourists and locals about the marine conservation efforts your project is working on and the threats local marine life is facing. Data recording and data entry will be part of your job description, too.

Moreover, the dolphin conservation project you’re working for might ask you to help prepare reports, which could be needed when applying for research funds and grants. Some dolphin conservation projects even have their own educational centers, where you can assist with classes. As marine biology is an important part of dolphin conservation, educating others and spreading your knowledge is a very helpful and effective measure.

In addition, your help with various dolphin watching boat tours as part of the classes could be required. By now you will have probably guessed that due to the huge variety of tasks you will be asked to perform as a dolphin conservation volunteer, you definitely won’t get bored anytime soon.

Your benefits of volunteering with dolphins

Watching dolphins roam free in their natural habitat is not the only perk of volunteering in dolphin conservation. There are plenty of other reasons why this kind of volunteer work could be the right choice for you. If you are interested in studying marine biology, a volunteer project working in dolphin conservation will be a great fit. You will gain hands-on experience and get a first insight into the daily work of trained marine biologists, which will certainly come in handy at a later point in your career. Being able to list this kind of work experience on your CV is another bonus and might help you land a maritime biology job.

Depending on where you choose to volunteer, you might get to refine your language skills whilst working on site. Immersing yourself in a foreign culture and living abroad will definitely make you grow as a person and give you a different perspective. And let’s not forget that the time you spend as a dolphin conservation volunteer will also be incredibly fun! You will be able to swim and snorkel and experience the beauty of the ocean at the end of your workday.

The best part is that you will be surrounded by like-minded volunteers that share your passion for dolphin conservation. After working and living together for a while, these people might even become your close friends! If you are thinking that joining a dolphin conservation project as a volunteer is just what you were looking for, then go ahead and get started right now! We would love to help you find the right project for you!