By Leilanie Adriano/PNA
LAOAG CITY — A group of fishermen rescued a stranded male pantropical spotted dolphin in the shallow waters of Masintoc, Paoay, Ilocos Norte on Monday morning.
Arthur Valente, Fisheries Regulatory Coordinator of the Provincial Agriculture Office (PAO) reported the dolphin is now under supportive care by several trained responders in the village.
Valente said a fisherman identified as Cesar Galapia spotted the dolphin at around 11 a.m. Monday. Upon checking, the 1.98-meter stranded animal was weak and thin with a deep wound in the abdomen.
For locals, seeing a stranded marine animal is no longer new to them hence, a group of first responders mostly composed of government workers and volunteers try to revive them.
As focal person of the Philippine Marine Mammal Stranding Network in Ilocos Norte, Valente said marine animals often get stranded when they flee fishermen hunting them or they get sick as a result of polluted environment.
They also get stranded when they try to flee bad weather, dynamite fishing or get lost in their search for food.
Record shows Ilocos Region is among the identified hotspots of dolphin and whale strandings over the past 10 years.
In the past, Valente said cases of stranding were unreported because locals were unaware about the endangered species.
