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.