A pod of dolphins from Devon to Cornwall in the United Kingdom is being placed under public monitoring due to their decreasing population, according to recent reports.
Due to the threat, scientists are asking the U.K. public to observe and report any bottlenose dolphin sightings or incidents that would be detrimental to the marine animal's population in the said areas.
The urgency came after years of dolphin strandings not only in the U.K., but also in the United States, France, and other parts of the world, wherein experts estimated thousands of dolphin deaths each year.
These reported deaths are in addition to the mass dolphin killings in the Faroe Islands and Japan, wherein such practice was condemned by conservationists and other concerned groups.
Various research over the past year have attributed such strandings to be caused by vessel strikes or ship collisions, as well as offshore wind farms and even climate change-related ocean warming.
However, the most common causes of deaths have been linked to fishing gear since dolphins and other ocean dwellers can be trapped, including whales.
Pod of Dolphins in Danger
Dolphins swims in a pool of the Planete Sauvage zoologic park in Saint-Père-en-Retz, western France on February 9, 2023.
Scientists are urging the public to help them monitor coastal bottlenose dolphins, the U.K.'s smallest population of such species, to ensure their future, ITV news reported.
There are around 40 members in the pod of dolphins being monitored between the north coastal areas of Devon and Cornwall, along the England south coast to East Sussex.
The researchers involved in the monitoring aim to determine and build a pattern where the dolphins travel at a particular time of the year and to know if external factors like human activities and environmental conditions also affect their movements.
U.K. Dolphin Monitoring
Based on the report, marine researchers and conservationists are asking the public to make notes of the date, time, and location of any dolphin sightings in the open ocean.
In addition, the U.K. dolphin monitoring also urges people take pictures of a dolphin's dorsal fins since they can be identified by their markings on it.
Furthermore, scientists warned that harassing dolphins is a criminal offence.
U.K. Dolphin Population
In the U.K. waters, there are approximately 700 bottlenose dolphins that can be found in four groups, according to the U.K. government, which reported that some bottlenose dolphins live very close to the shore, exposing them to human activities and cetacean species.
According to local authorities, the main threat on these dolphins is organic pollutants and underwater noise from anthropogenic or human-caused sources like seismic surveys, shipping, military sonar, and pole driving.
The authorities also acknowledged that dolphins can also be disturbed by "wildlife-catching vessels" and can sustain injuries upon collisions with vessels.
A whale or dolphin struck by a boat, ship, or vessel is likely to die or sustain serious injuries, according to the charity organization Whale and Dolphin Conservation.
In previous investigations, the determination of a marine animal's death in connection with vessel strikes is based on their wounds.
Related Article: Dolphin Population Becomes Extinct After Last Member Got Entangled in Fishing Gear