Dolphins found beached in Dagupan

DAGUPAN CITY -- Eleven spinner dolphins with bullet wounds in their bodies were found beached yesterday in a fishing village here, and four of them were immediately slaughtered by impoverished fisherfolk so that their meat could be sold.

Four of the other dolphins died before government scientists arrived to investigate the beaching incident, while three others were treated and were set free. One of those found dead was pregnant.

Another dolphin of the same species (Stenella longirostris) was about to be butchered by a fisherman when a specialist from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) prevented him from doing so. Dolphin meat sells for P50 a kilo in the local market.

"Do it and we will hold you responsible," warned BFAR officer-in-charge Westly Rosario. Those found guilty of killing dolphins face a 20-year jail term and a P200,000 fine.

Rosario said pirates or fishermen with big vessels may have been behind the wounding of these animals. Scientists are still studying why the dolphins, whose bullet wounds were already healing, beached themselves.

They theorized that the dolphins were either looking for food or were sick because these mammals usually seek flowing water whenever they are ill.

Rosario said the Lingayen Gulf is not known to be a dolphin habitat, but these animals have been frequenting the bay over the last three years.

With such a phenomenon, he said the government must closely monitor changes in the bay. Thousands of jellyfish also swarmed the area early last December, causing a power outage when they were sucked in by a cooling system of a power plant in nearby Sual town in Pangasinan.

Most of the dolphins that were slaughtered were over five feet long and weighed more than 37 kilos. --