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About this document
These guidelines provide best-practice standards for tagging cetaceans in Australian waters.
They cover the use of invasive and non-invasive tags and consider:
- animal welfare and ethics
- conservation outcomes
- operational requirements.
These guidelines ensure:
- tagging is scientifically and ethically justified
- tagging is the most appropriate method to address research and management questions
- tagging activities follow best practice to minimise risk to human and animal safety
- tag type selection consider species sensitivities.
They must be read in conjunction with:
- Best practice guidelines for cetacean tagging (Andrews et al. 2019)
- Guidelines for the treatment of marine mammals in field research (Gales et al. 2009)
- other resources described in the guidelines.
They were developed through consultation with technical experts including:
- Australian, state and territory government agencies
- cetacean experts from the scientific research community.