February 13, 2017 — Well-meaning humans who just can’t resist throwing fish overboard to attract wild bottlenose dolphins may be doing the creatures more harm than good. A recent study that draws on data collected in Sarasota Bay in cooperation with Mote Marine Laboratory cast light on the dangers, even when inadvertent and accidental feedings are involved.
“This is the first study that directly links human-related feeding of wild dolphins – intentional or not – with increase risks of injury from human interactions such as boat strikes, entanglement in fishing gear or ingestion of hooks and line,” said Dr. Katie McHugh, staff scientist of the Chicago Zoological Society’s Sarasota Dolphin Research Program. That program is a collaboration with Mote Marine.