Animal tool use has long been important to biologists, anthropologists, and psychologists due to the potentially important ecological, cognitive, cultural, and evolutionary consequences. Shell foraging (hereafter shelling), where some individuals feed on fish hiding inside large (dead) marine gastropod shells by lifting the shells into the air and subsequently draining the prey has only been recorded in Shark Bay, Western Australia. We present the first published records of shelling observed outside Shark Bay and provide video evidence of social learning of this unique foraging tactic. Four separate observations between 2013 and 2025 have identified four unique adult individuals and one calf exhibiting this behaviour within the Great Sandy Marine Park in Hervey Bay, QLD. During all observations the adult was seen foraging (without a shell) prior to picking up a bailer shell to commence shelling. In 2025, an observation involving an adult female and a calf was captured using UAV footage, showing the adult female shelling and subsequently chasing a fish that escaped the bailer shell. Three minutes after the mother dropped the shell, the calf was observed surfacing with the shell in the exact same location. The calf was observed holding the shell in the same way as it’s mother (rostrum in the bailer shell opening) and then slapping the shell against the water’s surface. The shelling events observed do not confirm successful or failed predation, only the use of a bailer shell as a tool to exploit a situational novel niche. This work provides evidence of independent innovation of the behaviour across the West and East coast of Australia and highlights the intelligence and innovative nature of dolphins. Finally, this work provides the first evidence of direct maternal social transmission (or teaching) of shelling and supports a ‘do-as-mother-does’ strategy commonly reported in other specialised foraging behaviours of dolphins.