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Depredation by Bottlenose Dolphins, Tursiops truncatus, from Antillean Z-traps at Discovery Bay, Jamaica
Erin J. Burge1,*, Steven C. Luff2, Casey E. Ludwick1,3, Nicholas C. Coleman1,4, Renee R. Touse1,5, and Till J.J. Hanebuth1
1Department of Marine Science, Coastal Carolina University, Conway, SC 29526 USA. 2Burroughs and Chapin Center for Marine and Wetland Studies, Coastal Carolina University, Conway, SC 29526 USA. 3Oak Island, NC 28461 USA. 4Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Sciences, Solomons, MD 20688 USA. 5Quality Marine, Los Angeles, CA 90045 USA. *Corresponding author.
Caribbean Naturalist, No. 95 (2023)
Abstract
Catch depredation is economically damaging to fishery participants and potentially harmful to marine predators such as Tursiops truncatus (Common Bottlenose Dolphin). Here, we report on 2 direct observations with video recordings of depredation events by dolphins from Antillean Z-traps along the west forereef at Discovery Bay, Jamaica, and tabulate an additional 7 occurrences elsewhere in Jamaica discovered via online searches. In video footage, dolphins worked individually or in small groups (2–3 individuals) to move and position Z-traps to capture prey from entrance funnels. Given the similarities between the events described herein, which occurred across multiple years (2008–2019) and hundreds of km of the island coastline, cultural transfer of depredation behaviors may have occurred in Jamaica. The results presented here and those published elsewhere suggest that additional study may be warranted on economic impacts to fishers and the possibility of cultural transfer of depredation techniques among Common Bottlenose Dolphins in Jamaica and throughout the Caribbean.
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