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River dolphin released from netting found dead

Shivani Chaudhari
News imageBDMLR The face of a dolphin with green netting wrapped around its beak and covering the sides of its face swimming through murky green water.BDMLR
The dolphin was spotted in the River Orwell in Ipswich on Wednesday

A dolphin has been found dead in a river after it was released from netting in the same stretch of water the day before.

The animal was spotted on Wednesday in the River Orwell, near Ipswich, with green netting clamped around its beak and pectoral fins.

The British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) said: "Despite being free of the net, the dolphin continued to circle within the river system and did not take the opportunity to leave with the tide."

The dolphin was found dead by the BDMLR team on Thursday, said a spokesperson.

News imageBDMLR A dolphin swimming through green tinged water. There is green netting around its beak.BDMLR
The common dolphin was a male and was 2.2m long, according to medics looking after the animal

A recovery operation was undertaken by HM Coastguard, the Environment Agency, Suffolk Police, Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service and Marine Mammal Medics to access the difficult location to secure and safely winch the dolphin from the river.

Medics found out that the common dolphin was a male measuring 2.2m (7.2ft).

The body has been placed into storage for the Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme, which hoped a post-mortem examination would provide valuable scientific information about the animal's condition and cause of death.

A BDMLR spokesperson said: "It is unusual for us to receive a callout to a live entangled dolphin, and this incident demonstrates once again the dangers of marine litter to wildlife in the environment."

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