Dolphin Spotting in the Maldives

In the Maldives dolphin spotting is very easy. There are 38 oceanic dolphins, for example the Dusky, Hourglass, Risso, Hector and the Irrawaddy dolphin. Here in the Maldives we mainly see the Spinner and the Bottlenose dolphins. At both our resorts Brennia in Raa Atolland Kihaa in Baa Atoll you have the chance to see dolphins directly from your villa. The resorts are on the dolphin’s natural path to their hunting grounds beyond the edge of the Atoll. In the late afternoon they are on their way out and in the evening on their way back into the Atoll to rest. During our diving and snorkelling excursions you have the best chances for dolphin spotting in the Maldives.

Dolphin Code of Conduct

The Dolphin Code of Conduct explains how to behave around dolphins. The captain has to approach slowly and not drive through the pod of dolphins but instead approach them from the side. Keep a safe distance for the dolphins. And the one that surprised me – avoid making noises. I used to whistle and make some crazy high pitched sounds to attract them but in fact it disturbs them as they have extremely good hearing.

Dolphin fun facts:

• Bull is the name for a male dolphin, a female is a cow and the young ones are calves.
• They can adapt their hearing for air and water; some can survive even if they are blind.
• They sleep with only one side of the brain at a time to maintain enough consciousness to breathe and watch for possible predators and other threats.
• They reach a cruising speed from 9 – 28 km/h.

Threats:

• Dolphins have few marine enemies.
• A study revealed that dolphins like humans, can develop a natural form of type 2 diabetes – I had no idea.
• Dolphins entangle themselves in fishing nets and drown.
• Fishermen don’t aim to catch dolphins but sometimes they end up as by-catch.
• Marine pollution from pesticides, heavy metals, plastics and other industrial and agricultural pollutants.
• An old tradition in Taiji in Japan and the Faroe Islands considers dolphins as food. Dolphin meat is high in mercury and may pose a health danger to humans when consumed.
• Loud underwater noises eg. from naval sonar use, live firing exercises and certain offshore construction projects eg. wind farms maybe harmful to dolphins, increasing stress, damaging hearing and causing decompression sickness by forcing them to surface to quickly to escape the noise.

Protection

Dolphin safe labels attempt to reassure consumers that fish and other marine products have been caught in a marine friendly way. In the Maldives the traditional way of catching tuna is by pole and line, hooking one fish at the time. This technique is believed to be the most sustainable method of fishing in the world. Next time you are in your local supermarket look out for cans of dolphin free tuna from the Maldives!