Snagged dolphin awakens Whale-watch issues anew

AA male bottle nosed-dolphin that got entangled in a drift net (pamo) dropped by fisherman Romeo Cañete early morning yesterday and died by drowning resurrects a raging issue confronting Bohol 's dolphin watching industry. Bohol 's hottest selling marine-life tour that incorporates the whale and dolphin watch is still threatened by unregulated fishing and illegal dolphin watching by fly-by-night operators. Cañete, from San Roque, Baclayon was net fishing and was about to load his net early dawn April 8 when he discovered that a dolphin was entangled in his net. The dolphin's fluke was caught in the net, causing the dolphin to drown.

A Department Administrative Order has banned fishing, killing and possession of endangered marine mammals and mere possession of meat makes one liable for imprisonment and stiff fines. The initial report was relayed by Sangguniang Bayan Member Tertuliano Apale, Tourism and Fisheries chair, who also happened to be on a separate whale watching tour and saw the suspicious fisherman towing his net to shore. Apale and his group noticed the fisherman towing something towards Baluarte in Baclayon. The group also noticed that a pod of dolphins tailed the towed net and only left when the boat reached shallow waters. On the shore, Baritua, who was facilitating guests for a dolphin and whale watching tour immediately relayed the alert to marine mammal rescue volunteers. Baritua also alerted Baclayon Mayor Benecio Uy and the local police station.

Bohol Rescue Unit for Marine Mammals (BRUMM) members came to the site to respond to the sent alerts. When the fisherman came to the shore, he was met by SPO3 Malimot and Brumm volunteers. The team composed of Department of Environment and Natural Resources Victoria Elle, Environmental Legal Assistance Center 's Annabelle Reyes and Pamilacan Island Boat Operators and Spotters Association Chairman Joselino Baritua along with SPO2 Bonifacio Paredes performed the necessary documentation.

The dead dolphin measured 2.5 meters and weighs about a hundred kilos. Inspection on the fisherman's net revealed that the dolphin could have been feeding on the fishes entangled on the net, as evidenced by the fresh fish remains gutted from the net. After performing necessary documentation, volunteers decided to bury the dolphin along the shores of Baclayon. The incident also pressed more weight on the need for stakeholders to agree on management measures and for Pamilacan waters as well as regulate operations of whale watching tours to lessen the chances of negative impacts on the rare marine biodiversity of the area.

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