The state’s only volunteer group licensed to be involved with marine mammal rescue, rehabilitation and release is called the Organisation for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia (ORRCA). And for 37 years, it’s done just that.

“It’s a volunteer-run, not-for-profit, organisation licensed through National Parks and Wildlife,” said Craig Ryan, an ORCCA committee member and trained rescuer.

“We currently operate only in New South Wales … our goal is the research and rescue of cetaceans, so that’s whales, dolphins, seals and dugongs.”

Craig, who is based in Sydney and has been part of the organisation for five years, heard about ORRCA through a friend who said it was a great way to volunteer for a good cause.

“You’re outside, you’re in nature and you’re working with potentially some pretty incredible animals,” Craig said.

As the Illawarra is rich in marine life, including passing whales and fur seals that live in the Five Islands Nature Reserve, ORRCA sees it as a good area to monitor these animals.

“The relation to the Illawarra for us is that we do get a lot of activity, particularly around like Windang and those areas with hall-out seals,” Craig said.

“The coastline is very important for us, especially to monitor whale migrations, so that’s obviously very significant to the region.”

Though his focus is not on rescues, Craig has had plenty of interactions with wildlife thanks to ORCCA. This has included examining a leopard seal found on a Sydney beach.

“There was a leopard seal hauled out on Bondi Beach, which is kind of incredible because leopard seals are from Antarctica and it's not very often that you see them up that far north,” Craig said.

“If there's any human intervention into a leopard seal, that complicates it returning home because there's an Antarctic Treaty that means that once you interfere with an Antarctic animal, it can't go back to Antarctica.

“It was really important to number one, keep people away, and number two, monitor the seal to see if there's any reason why it was this far up and then really work closely with National Parks.”

Craig also has enjoyed the privilege of interacting with Benny, a local celebrity seal that often rests in front of the Opera House.

“He kind of just jumps up on the stairs, chills out after having a feed, enjoys the sun and … relaxes,” Craig said.

“The last call-out I went down to, I was there for about 20 minutes, filming, taking photos and chatting with members of the public.

“He probably gets the most press of any seal in the state.”

ORRCA anticipates its hotline will receive about 450 calls this spring for marine animal-related incidents. Call numbers are typically higher in winter due to the whale migration.

Wondering how to participate? If a hands-on role isn't your aim, simply calling the hotline when you see an animal in need is a big help.

“100% best thing to do if someone's out and about and sees a whale or a dolphin or, very rarely, a dugong is to call us on our hotline,” Craig said.

“That way we can either give advice or organise to get our rescue training members out.”

ORRCA presents workshops year-round that help inform, educate and prepare people for greater involvement. Wollongong’s next workshop will be on November 18.

“We like to do things like that because it's a good audience,” Craig said.

“We have the opportunity to not only train but educate people who might not have the capacity to do the training or become a member.”

For more information on how you can become a member of ORRCA, check out their website, Instagram or Facebook.

If you see any whales, dolphins, seals or dugongs in need, call the ORRCA hotline on 02 9415 3333.