Humans and Dolphins: Fishing Buddies

By | July 12, 2019

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A dolphin jumps out of the water on September 28, 2018. (Photo by SEBASTIEN SALOM GOMIS / AFP). Source: (Photo credit should read SEBASTIEN SALOM GOMIS/AFP/Getty Images)

In most places on Earth, dolphins create problems for commercial fishermen. The dolphins can get tangled in fishing nets, destroying the nets and themselves in the process. There is one place, however, where dolphins and humans work together to ensure that they both have plenty of fish to eat. To witness this unusual display of symbiosis, you have to go to Brazil, to the small fishing village of Laguna. 

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The "botos bon", or good dolphins help fishermen in Brazil. Source: (newscientist.com)

A Fishing Story

In Laguna, Brazil, local fishermen wade knee-deep into the ocean, holding their handmade fishing nets at the ready. A pod of local dolphins called the "botos bon" (or "good dolphins") by the locals, herds schools of mullet, a type of fish that is common in the area, into the shallows for the awaiting fishermen. If the dolphins stopped at this point, it would be astonishing enough, but there is even more to this fishy story. A lot more.