I wouldnt worry too mutch. If you have ever worked on the sea, you would have seen literaly thousands of them. The hand fed Dolphins are a miniscule percentage.

Buzz Lightbulb wrote:

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Have you been feeding dolphins in WA? According to this study the hand fed dolphins are more likely to die.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0003347222000355

 

Even though the tourist companies only feed the dolphins very small amounts to encourage the dolphins to hunt for their own food, the dolphins spend more time begging for food and less time socialising with their own species and are therefore more likely to die.

 

Hand fed dolphins are twice as likely to die before adulthood. Only 38 per cent of the calves of hand-fed wild dolphins survive to 3 years of age, which is much lower than the average 77 per cent survival rate for wild calves in general.

 

I'm very disappointed because I was hoping to visit the dolphins next year but now the thought of feeding them may cause them to die is putting a brake on those plans. 

 

 

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 You will also find that the Monkey Mia Dolphin population in WA has been devastated, only 2 remain. There is also now a big problem with the Port River Dolphins in Adelaide regions, many are dying prematurely, many still born, or die very young.

I worked full time with Dolphins/ Seals, etc and various Seabirds for 10 yrs, both in rescue, rehab, and training of both captive and wild ones. Hand feeding wild Dolphins is problematic for a number of reason, including some disease transmission possible.

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-11/monkey-mia-dolphin-deaths/100641468

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-25/poor-health-port-river-dolphins-under-investigation/100405136

 

 

 

Years ago we where up at Tin Can Bay,took photos of a little girl feeding a dolphin