500-kg dolphin found dead in Quezon coastline

PHOTO from the Facebook page of Jing Astejada, General Nakar municipal environment and natural resources officer, shows residents gathering around a dead 500-kg dolphin found in the shores of Barangay Catablingan in General Nakar.

LUCENA CITY — A 500-kilogram dolphin was found dead along the coastline of General Nakar town in Quezon province on Sunday, local officials said on Monday.

General Nakar Mayor Leovigildo Rozul said the dolphin, whose species has yet to be determined, was found past 12 a.m. Sunday by residents in the coastal village of Catablingan facing the Pacific Ocean.

Rozul said a team sent to check the dolphin found several wounds on its body.

“The rescuers suspected that the wounds were caused by bullets,” Rozul told the INQUIRER by telephone.

Jing Astejada, General Nakar environment officer, said the marine mammal measured 5.6 meters (18.37 feet) and weighed at least 500 kg.

Rozul said they were waiting for provincial fishery authorities to determine the cause of the dolphin’s death.

He suspected that illegal fishermen attacked the dolphin.

“But they were not from my town. Our local fishers and coastal residents are fully aware that killing endangered marine species is against the law,” he said.

Dolphins are generally classified as endangered species.  Fisheries Administrative Order (FAO) No. 185 penalizes the killing, catching, sale, possession and transport or export of dolphins.