2 dolphins, sea turtle found dead

LINGAYEN, Pangasinan, Philippines  â€“ Two dolphins and a sea turtle were found dead in this capital town’s coastal waters yesterday. One of the dolphins had three bullet wounds.

Fernando de Guzman, chairman of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC), said his men rushed to Barangay Pangapisan North on a rubber boat after getting a report that a dolphin was found dead in the area at around 7 a.m. yesterday.

Dr. Westly Rosario, chief of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources-National Integrated Fisheries Technology and Development Center, also rushed to the site and said it was a Fraser’s dolphin about 2.38 meters long and with a girth of 121 centimeters. The dolphin bore three gunshot wounds.

It was the first time that a Fraser’s dolphin was found here, Rosario said.

A pawikan (sea turtle), the size of a small basin, was also found decomposing in the same area. Rosario said it might have been dead three days ago.

At noon yesterday, Rosario said another dolphin was found dead in the waters behind the capitol building here.

As of press time, the species of the sea turtle and the second dolphin could not be ascertained yet, Rosario said.

The three animals were later buried at the Fish Cemetery at the BFAR compound in Barangay Bonuan Binloc, Dagupan City, where 14 other dolphins and a number of whale sharks were also buried.