Brazilians and dolphins work together to catch fish. Maybe not for long.

  • 📰 washingtonpost
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 30 sec. here
  • 2 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 15%
  • Publisher: 72%

Canada Canada Headlines News

Canada Canada Latest News,Canada Canada Headlines

Local fishers and bottlenose dolphins have long worked together to catch mullets, a silvery fish. But climate change and commercial fishing may end the practice.

In a scenic coastal town in southern Brazil, people have cooperated with wild dolphins for more than 140 years to catch mullets, the silvery fish that serve as a source of income for townspeople and as meals for the friendly marine mammals. These artisanal catchers have small-scale operations, involving families that have carried out the practice over generations.

But this tradition, a rare example of a mutually beneficial relationship between humans and nondomesticated animals, may soon go extinct due to declines in mullet populations triggered by climate change and excessive commercial fishing, according to the peer-reviewed study.

Although scientists cannot agree on figures that show how fast seawater temperatures are changing, “more often than not they are rising, making it less likely for the mullet to come inshore,”That means fishers are catching fewer fish, and the dolphins are receiving smaller and fewer lunches.

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.
We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 95. in CA

Canada Canada Latest News, Canada Canada Headlines