When Dan Kent takes tourists and day trippers out on his morning Apollo Bay fishing charters, he keeps an eye out for where schools of bait fish are “holding”, as it’s likely dolphins will follow.
Later in the day, when his sunset dolphin watching cruise sets sail, Kent heads for the bait fish in the hope of striking gold.
In this part of western Victoria the lure of dolphins means tourism, and lots of it.
Pod life: Kent has run Apollo Bay Fishing Charters for six years. Many of his customers, who travel in a 10-person boat, are keen to catch a glimpse of dolphins.
“Most of the time they’re massive [pods] of three or four hundred or more,” Kent told the Brolga. “Over a thousand at times. They’re attracted to the boat, so as we drive around, they come jumping toward us. They sort of find us more than we find them.”
The two-hour sunset cruise visits a seal colony before venturing further in search of pods of dolphins. Often, it doesn’t have to venture more than a kilometre or two from shore.
Million-dollar coastline: That proximity has turned wildlife encounters into a serious economic force along the state’s coast.
“Everyone's surprised that we have that wildlife so close to shore,” Kent said.
Tourism Research Australia data shows whale and dolphin watching experiences were linked to 166,000 overnight trips and 136,000 day trips across Victoria from March 2025 to March 2026.
Those visitors spent $299 million.
The average amount of money spent during day trips where visitors embarked on a whale or dolphin tour climbed from $745 in March 2025 to $1,350 in March 2026.
Consistent numbers: Kent said the sunset cruises are the first to book out, and there was an 80 percent chance you would see dolphins.
“There's always been large packs of them, and there still are,” he said. “You don't realise what's out there until you do it. You don't have to travel far at all to find a lot of life.”