Stranded dolphin rescued, freed off Calapan City

CITY OF CALAPAN, Philippines—A Risso’s dolphin, almost 3 meters long,  beached in the coastal village of Wawa in this city Friday morning and was released to the deeper sea after over an hour, said an official at the Provincial Agriculture Office-Fisheries and Coastal Resource Management Division (Pago-FCRMD).

Rhodora Ramiento, agricultural technologist at Pago-FCRMD, who went to the site where the dolphin was stranded, said it  was found by fishermen Ritchel Agustin Castillo, 31, and Levy Abas, 40, who reported it at once to Wawa Barangay Captain Melchor Dilay.

Dilay then called up the  City Fishery Management Office, the  Coast Guard, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the City Veterinary Office, and Pago which contacted the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.

It was part of the Quick Response Team mechanism which the local government of Oriental Mindoro has instituted to enable speedy action during instances like dolphin stranding, as well as illegal fishing.

Ramiento said the dolphin appeared active and strong because when the fishers tried to bring the mammal into the open water, it was resisting.

“The mammal may have just been disoriented because of sudden changes in weather conditions,” she added.

In the past two weeks, it was very hot in Calapan, with temperature reaching 36 degrees Celsius. On Thursday night, it suddenly rained hard for several hours with strong winds, thunder and lightning.

“The dolphin may have been following a school of fish and got separated from them when pursuing food,” said Ramiento.

The BFAR took the pulse rate of the dolphin and found it stressed with erratic heart beats.

At least two injured dolphins were rescued and returned to the sea by fishers along the coast of Quezon province on Wednesday and Monday, according to lawyer Sheila de Leon, head of Tanggol Kalikasan-Southern Tagalog.

She  said, a 1.5-meter long female dolphin got entangled with the fishing net of a  fisherman in Barangay Bantigue in Pagbilao town Wednesday.

On Monday, an injured dolphin was  found by fishermen lying ashore near the coast of Guinayangan town. With a report from Delfin T. Mallari Jr.