Common Dolphins Return to the Adriatic?

Experts from the Blue World Institute Plavi svijet in Veli Lošinj have observed a group of over 50 common dolphins, the largest since they disappeared from the Adriatic several decades ago, but despite this, they cannot claim that this is a permanent return to our seas.

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During regular monitoring of bottlenose dolphins conducted by the Blue World Institute in northern Dalmatia in collaboration with Telašćica Nature Park and Kornati National Park, researchers recorded a sighting of a group of over 50 common dolphins about two miles west of the islet of Mana in the Kornati area in July, it was announced on Wednesday.

The researchers, who spent just over two hours with the dolphins, during which they collected data on their behavior and photographs needed for photo-identification, stated that the group included juveniles, among them one newborn. They were in good spirits, occasionally swimming at high speeds, and approaching the vessel and swimming in the bow wave, the statement said.

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Although the occasional appearance of dolphins does not mean that the species has returned to the Adriatic, their more frequent sightings may indicate that common dolphins are finding conditions for a short-term stay. Slightly smaller groups of 20-30 common dolphins near Dugi Otok were also recorded during the summers of 2015 and 2016. The reappearance of a group that included juveniles gives hope that the species may one day return to the Adriatic.

The disappearance of common dolphins from the Adriatic is a consequence of their killing, as fishermen considered them pests, as well as industrial fishing, sea pollution, and environmental changes caused by global warming and the emergence of new species.

The extermination escalated in the 1950s when nearly 800 dolphins were killed mainly in the northern Adriatic, and they disappeared from the Adriatic during the 1980s and 1990s, said Draško Holcer, president of the Blue World Institute.

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Common dolphins face similar problems throughout the Mediterranean. Today, the species is only more numerous in the Alboran Sea, the area around Malta, and in some parts of the Aegean Sea, says Holcer.

The common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) inhabits the seas and oceans of the temperate and tropical zones worldwide. With dark backs and light bellies, the common dolphin is recognizable by its characteristic yellow-white side in the shape of a reclining figure eight.

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It typically measures up to 230 cm in length. It feeds on smaller pelagic fish and invertebrates. According to available data, it typically lives around 30 years.