The Black scabbard (Aphanopus carbo) is a deep sea fish living around the waters of Madeira. It is not the most beautiful animal with its large slender black body and huge pointy head with large teeth, but important for the people living on Madeira and the tourists visiting this island. It is part of the traditional cuisine of this island and that is the reason it is fished here.
Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) are beautiful animals. The coastal variant has a slender grey body and a white belly and their curious nature makes them beautiful animals to encounter out there in the ocean.
Today could appreciate the tale of the beauty and the beast. On our trip on the ocean we encountered some Bottlenose dolphins swimming close to a Black scabbard fishing vessel. Later on we found the head of a Black scabbard at the surface floating. This fish most probably got stolen by a Bottlenose dolphin from the long line with which the fishermen catch these fish. Naturally both species would never meet, as the fish lives deeper than the dolphin can dive, but with humans as mediator this story can be told.
By Horst Schulte
Sightings of the day
Ribeira Brava
09:00 Bottlenose dolphins, Atlantic spotted dolphins
13:00 Bottlenose dolphins
16:30 Bottlenose dolphins, Blainville’s beaked whale
Stenella
09:30 Bottlenose dolphins, Atlantic spotted dolphins, Sperm whale
13:30 Bottlenose dolphins, Sperm whale
16:30 Bottlenose dolphins, Blainville’s beaked whale