11.02.2022 – Opportunists
February 18, 2022
14.02.2022 – Dolphin diversity
February 21, 2022
The conditions at sea were absolutely fabulous today as were the encounters, all despite the persistent poeira dust clouding the islands coastline. The possible reasons for the first encounter, however, aren’t exactly pretty.
Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), renowned as one of the many predators frequently observed interacting with fishing gear, were encountered in the vicinity of the fish farms near Calheta this morning. Having dolphins that close to the coastline does have advantages when it comes to scoring sightings for our team, especially under the current misty conditions. It does, however, also shed light on the darker side of these breeding areas.
The cages of the aquaculture in Calheta serve to breed Gilt-headed breams (Sparus aurata), a popular culinary fish that does not occur naturally in the waters of the archipelago. The feed and faeces of the bred fish, as well as the commotion caused by their movement in the cages attracts a wide range of predators that are otherwise dispersed along the coastline or in deeper waters. Bottlenose dolphins are just one of the several predators that have been encountered around the enclosures along with some shark species, Bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix), Loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta), Mediterranean monk seals (Monachus monachus) and even larger Baleen whales (Balenopteridae).
I made my guests aware of this fact during the encounter, which was a lovely experience despite the darker underlying facts. We also had the pleasure of meeting the group again during our afternoon tour aboard our zodiac and the animals even accompanied our boat for a while. As I mentioned in my blog from the previous day; it’s vital for us to make our guests aware of these unfortunate facts during our encounters at sea. Nothing is to be taken for granted when it comes to marine encounters and the need to reflect on the effects we have on our oceans is absolutely crucial!
By Paula Thake
Sightings of the day
Ribeira Brava
10:00 Bottlenose dolphins
Stenella
15:00 Bottlenose dolphins
