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Personnel of the Azohía trawler, with the help of ANSE, have released three copies of bottlenose dolphins that had been trapped in the snowflake, apparently along with 3 or 4 more copies that had managed to leave without help .

The animals, apparently a female, a juvenile and an adult male, have been released without suffering injuries or apparent damage.

Coastal groups of bottlenose dolphins coexist for centuries with almadrabas, labyrinths of nets placed at the exit of bays such as Mazarrón, dedicated to the capture of migratory banks of small tunas and other species, and in which dolphins take advantage Often the fish that move around it, without necessarily producing negative interactions for either side.

Although it is not frequent, it is also not uncommon that in each fishing season of the trap there is an accidental entry of dolphins into the flake.

Many times animals are able to "escape" by themselves, but in others, like today, they need the help of divers to sink the nets to facilitate their exit.

ANSE has been informed by naturalists who watched birds from the Tower of Santa Elena, a ship of the company Cetaceans and Navigation, and an environmental agent, of the presence of half a dozen dolphins trapped in the flake of the almadraba, which is currently In the process of dismantling at the end of the season.

The Association has asked the owner of the trap to put the necessary means to free the animals as soon as possible, moving the boats and personnel needed to get it just two hours later.

La Almazoba de La Azohía is one of the oldest among these fishing gear on the Mediterranean coast, and one of the few that is still being cut in a very similar way to what was done in the past, and which is currently integrated into from the Marine Fishing Reserve of Cabo Tiñoso-La Azohía.

Precisely, ANSE is currently developing the project “Compatibility of Tursiops truncatus bottlenose dolphin with fishing activities in marine protected areas�, which is developed during 2019 in the southern waters of the province of Alicante, Region of Murcia and coast of Almeria and Malaga mainly, and aims to provide detailed information on the interactions between coastal populations of bottlenose dolphins and fishing gear such as trasmallo or fence, although not from the traps.

During these days, the Else sailboat navigates the waters between the bays of Malaga and Almeria in search of bottlenose dolphins, in order to gather basic information about the size and distribution of this coastal species in the Andalusian waters where more interactions occur With fishing gear.

The project “Compatibility of Tursiops truncatus bottlenose dolphin with fishing activities in marine protected areasâ€� has the collaboration of the Biodiversity Foundation, the Ministry for Ecological Transition, through the high tide program, co-financed by the FEMP (European Maritime and Fisheries Fund ), in addition to the Fishermen's Association of Caleta de Vélez, the Azul Marino Foundation and the Marine Reserve Network of Spain.

The Association will study in the next few days the marks of the dorsal fins of the released dolphins (registered by means of photography) to see if they had been observed before during the sailings of the Else sailboat, and if they are animals that have inhabited our years coast or could be new copies for the catalog.

ANSE thanks all the people who have reported the presence of the dolphins in the flake of the almadraba, and the company staff and responsible, for the help provided for the release of the dolphins, aware that the management of these arts of Fishing will continue to improve every day.

Source: ANSE