There were 14 sightings of white dolphins in the past year, with four instances of cows caring for young calves, the Ocean Conservation Administration (OCA) said in its report about the endangered species released yesterday.
The agency’s research investigates white dolphins’ habitats and social networks from Taoyuan’s Zhuwei Fishing Harbor (竹圍漁港) to Tainan’s Anping Port (安平港).
White dolphins can be individually identified by the shape of their prominent dorsal fin, the agency said.
Photo courtesy of the Ocean Conservation Administration
In the latest investigation from 2023 to last year, 35 adult white dolphins were identified, it said.
Additionally, 38 juvenile dolphins were observed, but not individually identified, as their physical characteristics are not yet obvious, it added.
Based on observations over the past five years, there are three main white dolphin groups whose movements are divided by the Jhuoshuei River (濁水溪), the report said.
One group is active north of the river, another is active south of the river, and a third group moves across the north and south, the agency said.
These three groups can be further divided into eight smaller groups, it said.
Although they rarely interact, some individuals do communicate across groups, highlighting the complexity of their social networks, it added.
White dolphins mainly eat bottom-dwelling fish from the Sciaenidae family, such as croakers, as well as schooling fish that swim near the surface, such as mullet and hairtail, the agency said.
According to fishing data from 2017 to 2022, the greatest number of croakers were caught along the coast of Yunlin County, it said.
These catches show a positive correlation with the frequency of white dolphin sightings, indicating that this area is an important feeding ground, it said.
The public voted on their favorite of 15 marine species last month, with the green sea turtle, whale shark and white dolphin ranking as the top three, the agency said.
As a public favorite, the white dolphin would make an appearance during this year’s Baishatun Matsu Pilgrimage, it said.
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