KOCHI: The sun was starting to rise when Wilfred C Manuel reached Moolamkuzhi beach with his youngest daughter Angel for swimming practice. They saw something moving on the beach and rushed to the spot. It was an injured dolphin. Though Wifred and Angel tried to push the dolphin back to the sea, it returned to the shore. Wilfred then inspected the dolphin and found injuries on either side of its belly and on one of the fins.
“I think the dolphin was hit by a fishing boat and came to the shore fearing attack from other fish,” said Wilfred. With the help of other fishermen, Wilfred tried to push the dolphin back to the sea, but it refused to go. Then around 9.30am, Wilfred carried the fish into the sea, swam one km away and released it. The dolphin did not return.
“I held the dolphin with one hand while swimming. It was around 2-m-long and its heart was beating very fast. Though I tried to contact the fisheries department seeking help for the dolphin, there was no response. So, we decided to send it back to the sea,” said Wilfred. He said dolphins are fishermen’s best friends and have helped fishermen in distress several times in the past.
Wilfred runs Interdive Diving Services at Mundamveli and has been training divers in Kochi and Dubai. He trained the team of 25 divers who played a key role in rescue operations during the 2018 floods. Fisheries department officials said they have no provision to attend to injured marine species.
“I noticed the post about the dolphin on social media and alerted various agencies, including the Fishery Survey of India. By that time, fishermen had pushed the dolphin into the sea,” said fisheries department central zone joint director M S Saju.
“Dolphins are a protected marine species but we haven’t attended to any injured dolphin yet. We are involved in protection of turtles that nest in our shores,” said Ernakulam Assistant Conservator of Forest A Jayamadhavan.