May approach a boat, but generally is shy and avoids vessels. Dark narrow band between mouth and flipper.ĭorsal Fin: Small and triangular, located slightly from mid-body.ĭives: Surfaces frequently when traveling, may take 3 to 4 breaths at 2 to 3 minutes apart when feeding.īehavior: Travels along or in small groups up to 10. Dark gray in color or black on back with lighter sides and white belly. At birth a calf is approximately 32 inches.īody and Color: Smallest cetacean alone the Jersey Shore and U.S. Harassment is illegal and occurs when any act of pursuit, torment, or annoyance has the potential to injure the animal or disrupt its behavior.
They also may fall victim to extreme retaliatory acts (such as shooting) by frustrated boaters and fishermen.ĭolphins may also be disturbed or harassed by the presence of humans and watercraft. Dolphins are then more vulnerable to vessel strikes and to fishing gear entanglements and ingestion. Dolphins also teach these unnatural and risky feeding strategies to their calves and other dolphins. They learn to associate humans with an easy meal and change their natural hunting practices by begging for handouts and taking bait/catch directly off fishing gear. Illegal Harassment and Feeding Activitiesįeeding and attempting to feed dolphins is harmful and illegal because it changes their natural behaviors and reduces their wariness of people and vessels. Biotoxin exposure can lead to both acute and more chronic health issues for dolphins. Dolphins can be exposed to harmful algal blooms and toxins through the air or by eating contaminated prey. Several bottlenose dolphin die-offs have occurred linked to harmful algal blooms such as red tide. In addition to chemical contamination, physical habitat degradation due to shoreline development and increased boat traffic is also of concern. For example, dolphins living in areas with high levels of PCBs were shown to have impacts to their immune systems. Habitat Destruction and Degradationĭolphins living near shore are susceptible to habitat destruction and degradation by contaminants and oil spills. In addition, fishermen sometimes become frustrated when dolphins take their catch, and can retaliate with violence towards dolphins. These interactions can cause dolphins to be injured or killed by entanglement in or ingestion of the gear. Dolphins can become entangled or captured in commercial fishing gear such as gillnets, seines, trawls, trap pots, and longlines.ĭolphins may also encounter rod-and-reel gear used by recreational anglers or for-hire fishing vessels (such as charter boats) and is largely the result of dolphins taking the bait and the catch directly from fishing gear, eating discarded fish, or being fed fish (illegally) by humans causing them to associate anglers with food.
One of the main threats to dolphins is getting caught in fishing gear.
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