Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Fishers Save the Dolphins

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CARACAS, Dec 1 2007 (IPS) - Dolphins that are part of the Caribbean seascape of the Venezuelan coastline have won the respect of artisanal and sports fishers, ensuring that these mammals are enjoying good health, biologist María Gabriela Silva, of the environmentalist group Seavida, told Tierramérica. The probability of spotting a dolphin is 70 percent in these waters, which led Seavida to design strategies to promote ecotourism alongside sustainable fishing in the coastal communities.

For the past six years, youths involved with Seavida observe the area's sea mammals. The species most often seen is the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) and the Atlantic spotted dolphin (Stenella frontalis), said Silva, before heading to the Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, held in Cape Town, South Africa, ending Dec. 3.