Problem

Image Source: http://www.wdcs.org.au/info_details.php?select=1100299353

What is by catch? By catch is when fishermen catch fish or marine mammals or birds that are not their target animal. Bycatch can include marine birds, sea turtles, sharks, small whales and most of all dolphins and porpoises.

If you ever try to go for an underwater race with a dolphin, there is absolutely no chance that you will be able to win. Think about it. The fastest human swimmer can swim up to speeds of 6 miles per hour. On the other hand, a dolphin can swim up to 35 miles per hour! This makes the dolphin the fastest marine mammal. Amazing isn’t it?

Many people are wondering about how dolphins sleep. Since dolphins are mammals and have a voluntary respiratory system, they must come up to the surface every now and then to take a breath of air. The question is how do they sleep without drowning or losing their breath? Well, the dolphin sleeps with one eye opened and only half of the brain shuts down. The awake side of the brain signals when there is danger coming near. The dolphin comes up to the surface every now and then to take a breath of air. Blubber helps in these situations by helping the dolphin to float up to the surface easily.

Every year, tons of dolphins die because of by catch. If dolphins keep getting caught by by catch, the dolphin can soon become an endangered species. In fact, 300 000 small whales, are caught in nets each year. A large part of this is dolphins. Dolphins are beautiful animals and should never die in these circumstances.

Image source for top left hand corner: http://images.google.ca/images?q=cartoon+dolphin&hl=en&lr=&sa=N&tab=ii&oi=imagest

dolphin

~This Web page is Created by Alicia Koshman~