Scientists have confirmed that 13 per cent of common dolphins stranded on the Irish coast from 2017 to 2019 died of starvation.
The last most relevant comparison was between 1990 and 2006, when three per cent of common dolphin carcasses recovered on the British coast are believed to have started to death.
Most of the dolphins who died in British waters during this period died of injuries after being struck by a vessel, were caught at by-catch in a fishing net, had difficulty giving birth or were attacked by a bottlenose dolphin.
The study published in the scientific journal Ecology and Evolution focused on post mortem results of common dolphins which had died in the Celtic Sea area.
The scientists studied ventral blubber thickness of carcasses to predict nutritional status.
Poorer body conditions were observed during the autumn, and better body conditions were observed during the spring.
The scientists say that “further research is needed to understand the underlying causes for the observed decline, including shifts in prey availability and/or quality, to inform targeted conservation management strategies”.
The paper entitled Emaciated enigma: Decline in body conditions of common dolphins in the Celtic Seas ecoregion is published in Ecology and Evolution here
