SUBMON have reported the first underwater images recorded in the Western Mediterranean and Iberian Peninsula of common bottlenose dolphins feeding in trawl nets.

The organisation said that: ‘We have already observed that bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) follow the trawl fishing boats, mainly showing a feeding behaviour. However, until now we had not information of their underwater behaviour; we did not know if the animals entered the moving net, if they fed on the fish stirred up by the net, or if they ate the trapped fish from outside the net.

We have now been able to obtain underwater records of bottlenose dolphins swimming around the net, searching for food and extracting trapped from outside the nets. However, no dolphins have been observed swimming completely inside the net. One individual has been observed swimming at the beginning of the net, with half of its body inside and half outside. So far, no interaction of risk for the animals has been observed, although it is necessary to continue obtaining records.

These are the first images from the Western Mediterranean and the Iberian Peninsula showing the type of interaction that occurs underwater when dolphins follow the trawl nets.’

For further information and the full story see the SUBMON website here.