Joining forces with the local Marine Mammal Research (MMR) team, it will collect data on migrating whales as well as resident dolphins and give educational talks.

The event is to raise awareness of these animals and the environment in which they live.

MMR is a collective of researchers and volunteers that conducts marine mammal surveys in Jervis Bay and Eden, but works from Victoria in the south to Hervey Bay in Queensland.

Project coordinator Scott Sheehan said all money raised from the cruise would go towards helping the MMR team purchase new equipment.

“It will help us buy new equipment like a GPS, a hydrophone and a hard drive for data storage that will assist in ongoing research,” Mr Sheehan explained.

“It will assist us in our photo identification of the dolphin’s dorsal fin or whale’s tail, a very important aspect of field research as MMR contributes to the East Coast Identification Catalogue.”

The cruise will be held on Sunday, September 19 with Dolphin Watch Cruises at 9.30am, departing at Huskisson.

Tickets are $60 each for a three-hour cruise and educational talk from the National Zoo staff.

The cruise will be followed by a sausage sizzle in White Sands Park.