At Green Island Creative, we’re proud to donate 2% of our annual revenue to organisations that benefit our Gadu or Yuin Sea Country. Last financial year, we donated our 2% to ORRCA (the Organisation for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia). ORRCA does an incredible job of rescuing, rehabilitating and releasing marine mammals.

We chatted with Jools Farrell, the Vice President of ORRCA, to get the inside splash on ORRCA:

How did ORRCA start?
It started on 24th June 1985, when a pod of false killer whales were stranded at Crowdy Head on the North Coast. A local resident spent hours in the water keeping them upright but felt that he was losing the battle. He then decided that he needed to get the whales into a calmer area or bay. So, he worked alongside other locals and National Parks and they managed to save 33 out of 62 whales across a 3-day incident. Triage for the 33 whales that were still alive was set up in the small fishing harbour. They transported the whales on mats, put them on the back of trucks, and moved them over sand dunes to the harbour. That local resident helped start ORRCA. 

Since then, ORRCA has grown and is licensed in New South Wales working under a wildlife rehabilitation licence provided by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Services (NPWS). We have rescue-trained members in Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia where their respective Parks and Wildlife Services can utilise ORRCA volunteers when needed.

Why did you get involved with ORRCA?
I’ve always had a passion for the oceans since I was a little girl. I’m a nurse by trade and retired, and prior to ORRCA was an off-shore crew member for Sea Shepherd for 12 years. I ran the Sydney city chapter. I stepped down from my coordinator roles at Sea Shepherd and was approached by ORRCA, about 6 or 7 years ago to see if I’d be interested in joining. I joined the Rescue Hotline straight away. At that time there were changes in the committee and I was asked to be the second VP, and then VP.

How many volunteers does ORRCA have?
ORRCA is a 100% volunteer organisation. There are now nearly 900 members. Not all are rescue-trained, some are supporter members who join in on research projects and our Census Day. Once you are a member, you can become a rescue-trained member after completing a rescue workshop. They run from October through to April each year.

How is ORRCA funded?
We receive no regular funding from the government, so we rely on donations and applying for grants. Our entire income goes back to ORRCA and its key aims of rescue, research and providing the community with a 24/7 rescue hotline.

This is why it’s really important that we receive donations. It enables our Committee team to provide a specialised rescue service and to purchase customised rescue equipment like dolphin slings, whale mats or PPE gear for our rescue-trained members such as UV rescue rash vests. It’s most often custom-made and purpose-designed. Receiving donations and applying for grants helps ORRCA not only purchase new rescue gear but also allows us to keep our gear up to date and safe for use.

The Green Island Creative donation will go towards new rescue gear in 2022 and 2023. We’re in the process of updating and refreshing our kits up and down the NSW coast and ordering a new life-sized blow-up simulation dolphin and whale for our training team. These customised training resources can cost ORRCA anywhere up to $10,000 each!

Can anyone volunteer for ORRCA? What training do you need to be a volunteer?
Anyone can be an ORRCA volunteer. You don’t need science qualifications or experience with the ocean. If you want to be a rescue-trained member, you’ll learn everything needed at the full-day training workshop. We host a theory session in the morning, and the afternoon is a practical session on the beach. For practice, our team uses a blow-up whale and dolphin to help simulate the weight and size of an actual animal that we may need to rescue. It also provides new members with a hands-on, practical way to learn from our team how to use our whale and dolphin transport mats and slings. The afternoon session reinforces what was learnt in the morning classroom environment about species identification, animal biology, personal safety and much more.

What is the likelihood that an entangled or beached marine animal will survive after a rescue?
The majority don’t survive strandings because when a marine creature is stranded, it’s usually for a reason. A lot of the time they are sick or old, or it’s been avoiding a predator. It could also be a misadventure - they’re feeding, end up in the small shallows and can’t get back out. The chances of them being put back into the ocean are usually low. Working alongside NPWS staff, we do our best to assess the animal and get them back into the water if it has a chance of survival.

What else does ORRCA do?
We collaborate with NPWS staff who facilitate the transportation of deceased whales and dolphins to Taronga Wildlife Hospital and the Australian Museum for further research, pathology, necropsies and in some cases for their collections. For example, the Museum may display the skeletal remains if it is a rare or significant species.

Throughout the year, ORRCA also supports the community via education work such as community talks, school talks, focus groups and research discussion groups.

What was your most memorable rescue experience?
In 2019, there was a juvenile humpback whale that swam into a shark net at Whale Beach (near Avalon) and ORRCA got called. I got home from nursing and popped on my ORRCA gear. It took 5 and a half hours with the whale before it was successfully disentangled. The feeling of elation was amazing. Our role was monitoring the young whale that had been caught in the shark net. For 4 hours, we were relaying information back to the team coordinator, monitoring its breathing, movement and behaviour until the specialist NPWS large whale disentanglement team arrived.

After the on-water assessment, the young whale was successfully disentangled, thanks to the joint operation, with no injuries. It swam off and joined a pod that was milling around further out at sea and they continued their southern migration towards Antarctica.

We were all overjoyed with the outcome and it was a huge relief to see the whale swim off freely! The community that had gathered on the beach were hugging, what an afternoon!

How can people support ORRCA?
You can become a member, participate in rescue training, join in our research programs or volunteer for the ORRCA rescue hotline. Otherwise, you can donate or purchase some of our quality online merchandise. It all helps ORRCA make a difference.

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