JERUSALEM (AP) -- One-third of the bottle-nose dolphins swimming off Israel's Mediterranean coast are too thin, apparently due to a lack of food from overfishing, researcher said Tuesday.
A five-year study followed 74 dolphins, who were identified by their dorsal fins, comparable to fingerprints in humans. Photographs showed that ribs were visible in one-third of the dolphins, said Aviad Scheinin, a doctoral student who lead the study at the University of Haifa.
Many of the 100 to 200 dolphins living off Israel's shores trail fishing boats, eating the catch that is thrown back into the water. This type of feeding demonstrates the competition between the fishermen and the dolphins, Sheinin said.
Israeli fisherman have also reported a drop in the number of fish in recent years.
The dolphins could also be suffering some sort of illness or have a parasite that is causing the problem, Sheinin said.
Source: (AP -
http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/thin_dolphins_041214.html)
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