A dolphin breaches the surface with a loud splash before it crosses a net and a rope to leave a stationary fishing net off Fukui, the capital of Fukui Prefecture, on Sept. 7. (Masatomo Norikyo)

Photo/Illutration A wild dolphin swims by a boat off Fukui, the capital of Fukui Prefecture, on Sept. 26. (Masatomo Norikyo)

FUKUI--A rogue dolphin blamed for attacks that left more than 50 people injured off Fukui Prefecture over the past three years now has fishermen up in arms.

The animal has been spotted using a stationary fishing net as its personal feeding ground rather than going hunting for itself.

The dolphin was caught in the act by an Asahi Shimbun reporter who recently accompanied fishermen on one of their set net fishing trips.

One expert warned the dolphin could become unable to forgo his dependence on humans.

Eyewitnesses and experts said the dolphin attacks, mostly involving people being bitten, were likely the work of a male Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin estimated to be around 6 years old.

The dolphin swims around the stern, amid the roar of the engine, off the coast of Fukui on Sept. 7. (Masatomo Norikyo)

The dolphin was seen during the summer at more than one swimming beach on the Sea of Japan side of Japan, where it gave swimmers “love bites” of the sort that dolphins typically give one another.

It remains unknown where the dolphin goes and what it does at other times of the year.

The dolphin was caught red-handed helping itself to fish caught in a stationary fishing net about 3 kilometers off the Fukui prefectural capital.

The reporter learned about the dolphin sightings while he was interviewing fishermen in coastal areas and decided to accompany them, with their permission, on a fishing outing.

During the trip, the reporter filmed the dolphin entering and leaving the set net in the early hours of Sept. 7.

The fishermen said the dolphin had also made frequent appearances in and around another stationary net set about 10 km away.

The dolphin in action off Fukui on Sept. 7 (Masatomo Norikyo)

Tadamichi Morisaka, a Mie University professor of cetology, pointed out that the dolphin, to all intents and purposes, has been spoon fed at the set nets even though the fishermen never intended anything of the sort.

“The dolphin could continue to bite humans if it becomes dependent on the set nets and settles near them,” Morisaka said.

The dolphin continued to frequent the set nets in November. Some fishermen have blamed their poor hauls on the dolphin and called for it to be caught.

Catching a dolphin, however, is illegal in principle. Fishermen and local governments have yet to come up with a satisfactory way to break the deadlock.

Related News