— Brazilian fishermen use specially trained dolphins to chase their catch
— The bottle-nose dolphins drive the mullet into the fishermen’s nets
— Researchers believe the action has taken place for more than 100 years
— The dolphins are able to feed from any of the fish who escape the nets
These are the amazing scenes were a group of Brazilian fishermen have trained dolphins to round up fish and drive them into their waiting nets.
The fishermen, from the town of Laguna, wait for the dolphins to show up to wade into the shallow water with their nets.
The dolphins chase the mullet fish into the nets, while eating their fill of those who escape.
Some of the dolphins are well known to some of the 200 fishermen due to their distinct markings.
The group of 20 bottle-nosed dolphins alert the fishermen to the location of the fish and tell them when they should deploy their nets.
Scientist Fabio Daura-Jorge told Oddity Central: ‘About 200 local artisanal fishermen are almost entirely reliant on the dolphins for catching fish. The fishermen do not fish without the assistance of the dolphins and know the individual animals from their natural marks and can recognise them by eye.
Duara-Jorge added: ‘Dolphin societies are very complex, and social interaction seems to drive foraging behavior. It might be that the development of specialised foraging behavior occurs in small tight-knit resident coastal communities because there is a high degree of social interaction between the animals.’
Associated Newspapers Ltd