Motorboats blamed for injuring pod of dolphins in Cornwall

Times

5 days ago

Motorboat users in Cornwall are being blamed for severely injuring a pod of dolphins as conservationists say it is 'madness' that no licence is required to pilot a powered craft.
At least five maimed common dolphins were spotted off the south coast between Fowey and Mevagissey.
Three dolphins had dorsal fins severely sliced open or bent over and two had them cut off. One had a damaged beak.
Rebecca Allen, a marine conservation officer at the Cornwall Wildlife Trust, said it had received reports of 'boats in the area just going straight towards and even through pods of dolphins'.
'That might be because they haven't seen them or they think they can go through them and they will bowride, which isn't what happens,' she said.
'Unfortunately anyone can buy a powered motorcraft and go out on the water. You now see everything from electric powered hydrofoils to jet skis and rigid inflatable boats.
'No one has to do a qualification and that to me seems complete madness with our waterways getting more and more busy.' If a boat has a motor under 10 horsepower, you don't need a licence to drive it for recreational purposes.
There has been anger from locals at the injuries caused to the creatures.
Lianne Venning, from Lostwithiel, said: 'We were watching some people the other day following dolphins and seals. They did not have any respect for the animals.'
Gill Pryce, another resident, blamed 'toffs down on holiday from London thinking they own the place, with no respect for the county because they don't live here'.
Cornwall Wildlife Trust has received video showing injured dolphins recorded by crew on the Mevagissey-to-Fowey ferry on Sunday.
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James Barnett, a veterinary pathologist from the Cornwall marine pathology team, said the injuries had most likely come about from impact with high-speed watercraft or propellers.
It is illegal in the UK to intentionally or recklessly kill, injure or disturb cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
Over the past ten years the Cornwall Wildlife Trust Seaquest surveys, carried out by volunteers, have shown sightings of common dolphins have gone from being a relatively rare sight to being seen on more than a third of the two-hour surveys.
Allen said: 'We are seeing common dolphins more often and right the way through the year.
'There definitely seems to have been a shift to our inshore waters, probably after food but we are not sure what has caused that. While this can lead to spectacular encounters for us, it also brings them into our very busy coastal waterways.'
Water users are being urged to keep at a low speed after spotting animals and to follow government guidelines if they see them, which is to reduce to a slow 'no-wake' speed and keep to a safe distance of at least 100m.
Allen said coastal waters had become significantly busier with recreational boats in recent years, especially since the pandemic, when there was a rise in powered craft sales.
In 2021-22 total revenue in powered craft sales reached 6.5 per cent above pre-pandemic levels. Imports of inboard and outboard powerboats rose by 32 per cent, while rigid inflatable boats had a 66 per cent increase and outboard engines rose by 40 per cent.
Allen said: 'Sometimes dolphins are curious and might come and investigate your craft but quite often they have other things to do. They could be asleep or feeding. Quite often they will have calves with them.
'Driving straight at them won't make them bowride — it will make them get out of the area.'
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She said the dorsal fin was used for stability in the water and heat regulation, as it contains a lot of blood vessels.
'They cannot grow back,' she said. 'Where they are flopped over or cut off, that is going to stay like that.
'Maybe they won't be able to swim and turn so quickly, so it might harm their feeding, but it's so hard to study the impacts.'