Our new marine project, located in Trang Province, specialises in the research, protection and rescue of marine animals native to Thailand, particularly whales, dolphins, dugongs (or sea cows) and turtles. Volunteers required shortly.

Introduction

Thailand has a long coastline on two different seas, the Gulf of Thailand as well as the Andaman Sea. In both seas we find lots of marine life; coral reefs, fish, sea snakes, marine turtles, dolphins, whales and even the dugong or “sea cow”. Currently it is believed that besides these turtles and sea cows there are 22 species of dolphins and whales (cetaceans) present in Thai waters. Sizes of these cetaceans are from as small as a little shorter than 2 meters (finless porpoise) up to a staggering 27 meters long (fin whale). Most data to support the claim of their presence are from specimen washed up to the coast after they have died while some confirmations of occurrence is from live sightings.

Some coastal species of dolphins found in Thailand such as the Pink or Indo-Pacific Hump-back dolphin (Sousa Chinensis) and the Irrawaddy dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris) are often seen off the coast of Thailand as they seem to spend most of their time in shallow waters, while other dolphins such as the bottle-nose dolphins are spending most of their time hunting in deeper waters.

Sightings of Whales are harder to find. Whales stay in deeper waters and can usually not been seen from the coast, they surface not very often unless they are hunting and their numbers found in the wild are also lower than dolphins. When the seas are not quiet and wind and waves make it even more difficult to spot these magnificent creatures it is hard to get a good idea of their occurrence, numbers and behavior even if it is a very large fin whale or Sei or Brythe’s whale. Some of these whale species have never been confirmed alive in Thai waters and only been found stranded on Thai beaches. Trang Province Trang Province is well known for its high biodiversity due to the large amount of islands right off the coast and further west. Three species of dolphin are found very frequently right off the cape where our center is located.

The largest population of Dugongs in Thailand is only 12 kilometers away. Trang has its own airport only 40 minutes from our project site with two flights a day from and to Bangkok. The bus terminal is less than one hour away with busses arriving and taking off to Bangkok, the Malaysian border, Phuket island and all surrounding provinces.

Finding answers

So we know that there are probably 22 species of marine mammals in Thai waters, but how many of these species are really here, more or less? How many of these species are found all year round? What are these creatures doing here? Are they here to feed, to breed or give birth to their offspring? Or are some of these cetaceans just passing by on their way between feeding grounds and breeding spots, looking for warmer water from colder parts of the world? What are these animals feeding on in Thai waters? And last but not least what are the current threats to the existence of these marine mammals?

The Cape Trang Project is trying to find answers to some of these questions by finding the dolphins and whales and observe their behavior, photograph their characteristics for comparison and identification - for example, dolphins can be easily identified from clear pictures of their dorsal fins - to learn more about their behavior and occurrence without disturbing their natural behavior.

How can you help?

Joining the project as a volunteer training researcher you will basically learn everything about research work on marine mammals. After the first days of training on species identification, standard operation procedures, safety, GPS use and use of the boat you will be ready to join the team on board of one of our boats.

Your duties onboard are helping researchers studying dolphins. In the beginning researchers will train you to perform specific tasks: watching, underwater camera monitoring, behavioral data collecting, photo-identification, steering, acoustic recording etc. Navigation data are collected in order to estimate dolphins relative sighting frequencies. The presence of sea turtles, tuna, swordfish, fish schools, mantas, and marine birds, is also recorded. During daylight there is usually free time for a swim, or for the skipper to give theoretical and practical sailing lectures. In case of bad weather can help to order the collected data, enter them into the computer and in preliminary analysis. Extra lectures and video sessions will be offered by the team.

For further information on the Marine Research & Rescue project, please see our Marine FAQs section.

Volunteers will typically rotate a day at sea followed by a day on land processing and analysing the data with the resident biologist during the course of this project. Diving opportunities may also be available for those with certification.

Application

You can ask for additional information about our projects, including any conditions for volunteering and trip costs. If you are interested in a volunteer position, please send an e-mail or letter of motivation via email to volunteer@wfft.org explaining your interest in the project, a brief paragraph about yourself and your proposed length of stay.

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