Washed-up dolphins ‘caught in nets’

Thirteen dolphins were killed after being caught in trawler nets off the west coast, autopsies have revealed.

The common dolphins, a protected species, were washed up in Co Mayo over one week at the end of January, many of them with scarring and rips to fins consistent with being entangled in fishing gear. Some were washed up on Achill island.

The Department of Arts, Heritage, and the Gaeltacht commissioned a specialist cetacean veterinarian team to carry out autopsies on five of the dead mammals. The results showed evidence that trawlers had caused the deaths, with examinations showing net marks on the dolphins’ fins and tail flukes and body wall, bleeding in the lungs and stomachs with recently ingested prey.