Spotted dolphin dies at Pangasinan beach

Fishermen carry the spotted dolphin that beached on Thursday, October 11, 2018, on the shore of San Fabian town in Pangasinan province. (Contributed photo)

DAGUPAN CITY — A wounded pantropical spotted dolphin (Stenella attenuata) was discovered at the shore of San Fabian town in Pangasinan province on Thursday but its rescuers could not save the marine animal.

The dolphin was found by fishermen at the beach of Barangay (village) Nibaliw Narvarte at about 7:30 a.m., according to Westly Rosario, chief of the National Integrated Fisheries Technology Development Center (NIFTDC).

The dolphin, which was 193 centimeters (cm) long, was the first of its kind to be stranded on Pangasinan shores, said Rosario.

The fishermen carried the dolphin to the NIFTDC but Rosario said the sea mammal did not survive the wound on its nape and died before it could be treated.

“Like the other dolphins that beached on our shores, the spotted dolphin appeared to have been wounded by a spear,” said Rosario.

The dolphin was buried at the NIFTDC fish cemetery, making it the 31st dolphin and the 39th sea animal to be entombed there.

Other sea animals buried in the cemetery are sea turtles and a whale. /kga