Hommam Al Nassim 
A field study revealed a significant impact of purse seine fishing on dolphin fish in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Morocco, prompting the dolphins to “learn to attack.”
The study, which was summarized by “The Conversation” platform, showed that fishing operations prompted bottlenose dolphins to attack the nets of fishing boats, which in turn prompted fishermen in this region to deliberately catch them, and sometimes kill or injure them.
The study, prepared by researcher Mohamed Kazanin at Abdel Malik Al-Saadi University, stated that the costs of repairing purse seine nets amount to 36% of fishermen’s profits, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
The study, titled “Dolphins vs. Fishermen: Both Losers in the Mediterranean Sea off Morocco,” touched on the difficulty of estimating losses resulting from dolphin attacks, given the lack of scientific studies available on this subject.
The same source stated that Morocco protects aquatic mammals through a set of international agreements and local and regional laws in cooperation with countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea.
The study was conducted in 2020, specifically on the coast of Al Hoceima, about 150 km east of the Strait of Gibraltar, using data collected on the number of deaths among dolphins that were recorded during the research.
The results showed that 121 dolphins were caught in the nets during 48 fishing trips (four trips per month throughout the year 2020), with the death of 11 caught dolphins recorded. The cost of repairing the damage to the nets amounted to about 179 US dollars (about 1,770 dirhams) for each incident and may reach Losses sometimes reach ten thousand dirhams.
Some Moroccan fishermen expressed their frustration as a result of the losses caused by dolphins in their fishing nets, as their work plays an important role in the local economy of cities overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.
The research paper called for deepening research into the behaviors of dolphins in the Mediterranean Sea and searching for new fishing techniques other than purse nets to reduce damage.
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