The name suggests this coastal organisation only catch and rehabilitate injured seabirds and shore birds, but the fact is they are active in all coastal wildlife rescues including saving turtles, dolphins and whales!

They also teach best practice behaviours of waste management to reduce the human impact on coastal environments. Read here about their latest marine rescues...

Last summer was an extremely busy time for Australian Seabird Rescue with the flooding and rain across the North Coast region and the effect on seabirds was drastic. Australian Seabird Rescue treated a large number of pelicans suffering Avian Botulism poisoning which required intensive rehabilitation at their centre located in northern New South Wales. Australian Seabird Rescue managed to revive seven of the eight pelicans and twenty five crested tern chicks in their care as a result of the rain event.

Every year the ASR turtle hospital also gets many turtles in for rehabilitation. This year Australian Seabird Rescue took in their care a nest of turtle hatchings from Casurina beach, just south of the Gold Coast.

"We had 22 hatchlings in after the big storm - ten of which hatched overnight in the facility. All were successfully released back into the wild; it was another 22 turtles released which wouldn't have made it otherwise. So that was an accomplishment for sure."

"The hatchlings that we had in care may not be a large number, but is significant in terms of the amount on the planet, and the fact that they are critically endangered or vulnerable. So every one is significant as far as we are concerned," said Rochelle Ferris of Australian Seabird Rescue.

The main dangers to seabirds are fisherman's hooks, and fishing line, which catches around their wings, feet, and beaks. Rochelle says "it can constrict and restrict circulation, causing gangrene and long term injuries." This is not only hugely distressing for seabirds and shore birds, but can lead to a slow death. A common misconception is that we are the enemy of the fisherman... we love fishing!

"Hooks in bills, torn pouches on pelicans.... we find hooks and line pretty much anywhere you can imagine...we find birds even swallow them," said Rochelle.

"A common misconception that we constantly battle is that we are the enemy of the fisherman because we rescue seabirds, which are victims of fishing. Having said that, we love fishing! We don't have any qualms about anyone else fishing", said Rochelle. "These guys out on the water really are our best friends because they are patrolling the rivers for us without even realising it. They are always looking at the birds and looking at what is around them."

Each animal Australian Seabird Rescue takes care of requires long term rehabilitation; especially sea turtles because they have such slow metabolism and by the time they reach the centre, they are usually critically ill.

"Most of the time we have a sea turtle in for at least a month. One turtle that we released last month, we had for six months and Olly, a little baby Olive Ridley, we had for over 12 months. He had the floating syndrome and his rehabilitation didn't go so well."

There is a phenomenon amongst sea turtle illnesses known as the floater syndrome, which causes turtles to float in waters due to a build up of gas in the body cavity over a period of time. This can be caused for a number of reasons: bacterial, fungal, or ingestion of plastic. Turtles feeding opportunistically at the surface of the ocean eat plastics, causing a blockage of the gut. Most of the turtles Australian Seabird Rescue rehabilitates excrete plastic while in care and, after doing so, begin to sink back down to the bottom.

Although this would eventually happen naturally, turtles with floater syndrome that have floated on the surface of the water for a long time, are unable to reach their food source: seagrasses and sponges, and occasionally jellyfish and crustaceans, depending on the species of turtle. A turtle, regardless of species, not reaching its food source, would almost certainly die from starvation, and exposure to the sun which is abnormal for any sea turtle, can cause further damage such as sun damage to the carapace of the shell, as well as continued heat stress compounding its problems.

Australian Seabird Rescue treats a staggering 40 sea turtles a year – about the same amount as North Qld Cairns' sea turtle rehabilitation centre, except that Cairns never sees turtles that have eaten plastics; only those which have been caught in ghost nets. This is why Australian Seabird Rescue believes there is a correlation with ocean currents. If all plastic is being dumped in one area, as it is in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, then we really need to clean up our beaches.

To understand the extent of the dumping of plastics in the Pacific Ocean and the effects this is having on our environment it is well worth viewing the story covered by 60 Minutes, "Seas of Shame" aired July 20, 2008, at the following link: http://sixtyminutes.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=598914.

Australian Seabird Rescue's Ballina branch treats between 300 and 350 animals a year, most of which are birds of many different species, and the majority of those birds are tangled in fishing line and have fishing related injuries. ASR is also called in to facilitate with the rescue of dolphins and whales in the local area, including the recent rescue of a dolphin and her calf trapped in the Prospect Lake, Ballina.

On top of rescues, rehabilitation, research and education, Australian Seabird Rescue is out raising awareness in the community. If you would like to attend a workshop, book a tour, donate, or become a supporter or volunteer of Australian Seabird Rescue, please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , visit their website www.seabirdrescue.org or phone (02) 6686 2852.

written by: Grace Gutwein