Dolphins on our doorsteps!
Public collaboration can make a real difference for The Fujairah Whale Project researchers, by reporting their dolphin and whale sightings and enabling the team able to collect vital data which is imperative to the research. Last month there were some really good sightings.
On Saturday 16th January, a local citizen reported a sighting of approximately 200 dolphins, about 40km offshore from the Port of Fujairah. From their video the team could see the group comprised of mixed age classes, and that the dolphins were slowly travelling whilst being filmed. The footage did not allow for a conclusive identification of species, but the dorsal fin shape is suggestive of Indo-Pacific Common dolphins (Delphinus delphis tropicalis).
The Fujairah Whale Project is always grateful to receive records such as this and were especially pleased to see the vessel keeping a safe distance from the dolphins to avoid disturbance. The Fujairah Whale Project recommend a minimum distance of 50m and also that if any cetaceans approach your vessel, that you bring all fishing gear back on board to reduce the chances of cetaceans becoming entangled or caught in the gear.
Photo credit: Haitham Hammoudi
On Wednesday 20th January, approximately 10-20 spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris) were seen relatively close to shore just east of Fujairah city. This is unusual, as this species is normally seen much further from shore in Fujairah in water depths of 500m or more.
This pod, which had at least one juvenile-mother pair, was reportedly seen in the vicinity over a few days. To ID a spinner dolphin, we look out for a tripartite colouration of a dark grey back, lighter grey flanks with a paler belly. They also have a dark stripe from their eye to the shoulder of their pectoral flippers.
Photo credit: Balazs Buzas
