Get Paid by NOAA for Catching Dolphin Mag

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration fisheries scientists are asking Hawaiian fishermen to collect dolphin stomachs in order to support their research.

NOAA scientists will be able to better understand the diet of dolphins by analyzing their stomach contents. The study will also reveal how many coral reef inhabitants make up dolphin diet.

According to NOAA, anglers can earn financial rewards for participating.

“Collaborating with the fishing community is an important component of this work,” says Keith Kamikawa, fishery management specialist from NOAA’s Pacific Islands regional office. “We’re conducting science while getting Hawaii fishermen involved.”

Kamikawa explained that coral reef fish live their adult lives close to shore, but when they mature and spawn their larvae move out to sea, where they can develop into dolphin-friendly creatures.

“There they grow from tiny plankton to pelagic juveniles just a couple of inches long,” he said.

Kamikawa believes that juvenile reef fish could become prey for mahimahi (and other predators pelagic) as they return to the reef to grow into adult reef fish.

Protecting coral reef habitats, where they mature and spawn, could be a significant factor in maintaining mahimahi populations around the islands.

NOAA scientists depend on stomach samples from dolphins collected by recreational, subsistence and charter fishermen. Anglers can provide stomach samples all year.

NOAA offers a “punch card” program to obtain recently caught dolphin stomachs from fishermen. Anglers must also share information such as the catch location, the type of bait used and the size of the dolphin.

For every dolphin stomach, fishermen will be awarded one point. They will receive a $50 gift certificate to a local fishing supply shop for every 10 points. More than 300 dolphin stomachs have been donated by fishermen so far.

“We’re really getting a great look into mahimahi diets in Hawaii,” said Nan Himmelsbach, a research associate who works for NOAA. “Preliminary results using DNA barcoding techniques have revealed that the majority of prey items found in mahimahi stomachs are juvenile stages of reef-associated animals, such as goatfish and surgeonfish.”

Scientists use genetics in order to identify dolphin prey that has been digested. They’ve learned that notoriously ravenous-eating dolphin have an extremely diverse diet.

So far, scientists have identified more than 500 prey items from the dolphin stomachs they’ve processed.