This year, SDRP staff also shared new research findings during the 24th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, held in West Palm Beach in August. The conference theme “A Sea Change: Transforming Science into Stewardship” gave staff, students, and collaborators the opportunity to highlight our work through 23 oral or poster presentations. I think the conference theme was particularly on point for our program, where we work hard to help the public relate to dolphins as the individuals they are.
Our philosophy is that the more we can help our communities learn about the individual lives of our waterborne neighbors, the greater affinity they will have for dolphins, leading people to take more action to support dolphin conservation and protect their shared ecosystems.
In fact, I’m really hoping for that action now, as a red tide harmful algal bloom impacts Southwest Florida from Pinellas County south to Collier County, likely exacerbated by the excess nutrient pollution washed into bay and estuarine waters by hurricanes Ian and Nicole.
This bloom is shaping up to be particularly devastating, with record counts of Karenia brevis (the microscopic algae that causes red tide harmful algal blooms off Florida) being found not just in our own water samples but in those collected by Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and their partners along the coast.
Red tide cell counts have reached levels more than 25 times greater than the concentrations at which fish begin to die. And, as floating mats of dead fish increase and healthy fish populations are decimated, we know from our research that dolphins will be at risk — not just from the neurotoxins released by the cells when they break apart, but also from follow-on ecological effects.
For instance, in past blooms we've documented declines in dolphin prey fish populations of more than 75%. That leaves human anglers and our dolphin neighbors competing for smaller and smaller populations of fish, which sometimes leads to bad outcomes for dolphins, anglers or both.
Anglers get frustrated as dolphins take their gear and fish. And dolphins become seriously injured or die from eating recreational fishing gear or being hooked or entangled in it. During the 2005-06 bloom, 2% of the Sarasota Bay resident dolphin community members died from ingesting fishing gear.
But there’s opportunity here — for you as individuals — to transform science into stewardship.
If you are fishing during this red tide and dolphins approach you, please reel in until they pass on by. In these tough times, they need these fish to survive, and they need to be able to catch them free from risk to life and fin from fishing gear.
Today, as always, I thank you for your support of our research, conservation and outreach programs and for supporting the stewardship of our oceans and the dolphins that call them home!
Wishing you fair winds, following seas, and may the red you see be in your holiday decorations rather than your local waters!
Randy Wells
