Spotted Dolphin - SWFSC
Phone: (858) 546-7000
Fax: (858) 546-7003
Spotted Dolphin
The pantropical spotted dolphin (Stenella attenuata attenuata) has been the most frequently killed species of dolphin in the yellowfin tuna purse-seine nets. There are two stocks of dolphin recognized within the eastern tropical Pacific: the northeastern and the western/southern as well as a second subspecies, the coastal spotted dolphin (S. a. graffmani), which is managed as a separate stock. The abundance of all stocks has been significantly reduced by the purse-seine fishery, which has killed millions of dolphins during the past four decades. The impact of the fishery on dolphin populations was documented in the late 1960s (Perrin, 1969) and was one of the issues that led to passage of the Marine Mammal Protection Act in 1972.
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