Mote Marine Laboratory

Saving Placida

By: Nadine Slimak

Scientists ride to the rescue to save an Atlantic bottlenose dolphin in Charlotte Harbor

Growing up is hard to do – especially when you’re a 1 ½-year-old dolphin wounded by a boat propeller and have fishing line stuck in your wound, keeping it from healing.

Placida, an Atlantic bottlenose dolphin, suffered just such a plight sometime in late October or early November 2003 when a boat propeller carved a series of parallel gashes into her caudal peduncle — the area just before the fluke. Then, as she swam with her mother around Placida Harbor, near Boca Grande, strands of monofilament fishing line got stuck in the injury and threatened to slice through her tail. The problem was exacerbated when algae attached to the line, causing more drag on the wounds.

That’s when scientists from Mote’s Stranding Investigations Program rode to the rescue on two 2002 Aqua Trax F12X personal watercraft provided by American Honda. They used the watercraft to check on Placida’s condition and determine what kind of help the animal needed.

Scientists to the rescue

Alert boaters first spotted Placida in early November trailing the monofilament line. Then they called Mote scientists who have the training and federal permits needed to monitor and help injured dolphins.

The stranding team used the watercraft to get close enough to check Placida’s injury. After watching her from the watercraft for a few days to see whether she could get rid of the line on her own, they knew they had to act.

A team coordinated by Mote’s Sarasota Dolphin Research Program, including 20 biologists, veterinary staff and trained dolphin handlers, was deployed to the harbor to remove the fishing line and treat the wounds before releasing Placida at the site.

The team worked quickly to clear the fishing line, remove dead tissue from the wound, give Placida an antibiotic, and release her so she could return to her mother.

“This small calf has had to deal with far too many negative human interactions during its short life — the fishing line becoming embedded in the propeller wounds was adding insult to injury, literally,” said Dr. Randall Wells, director of Mote’s Center for Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Research and coordinator of the rescue efforts. “Recreational fishing gear continues to be a serious problem for dolphins on the west coast of Florida, both through entanglement and ingestion. I hope we were able to give this animal the boost it needed to complete its healing.”

Because they were able to remove the line, Mote scientists decided it would be better to leave Placida with her mother and monitor her closely in the wild than bring her to Mote’s Dolphin and Whale Hospital.

The personal watercraft were essential in monitoring this calf’s progress, said Dr. Deborah Fauquier, deputy program manager of the stranding investigations team. “This has been a perfect use for the watercraft,” she said. “They’re much easier to launch and we can use them to reach shallower areas.”

You can help wild dolphins stay healthy and safe:

• Stay at least 50 yards from wild dolphins while boating or using personal watercraft. It is a federal offense to threaten, harass, touch or feed wild dolphins. Mote scientists were allowed to get close enough to Placida to monitor her with personal watercraft and treat her from boats because they have federal permits allowing them to perform those tasks.
• Check your fishing gear before heading out to wet a line. Make sure your fishing line is in good shape, that way it won’t easily break off and end up in the water.
• Stow used line. Make sure you collect any lines broken while you’re out on the water and bring them back to shore. Once on land, the monofilament should be discarded in a secure bin so it doesn’t blow back into the water. It is against Florida law to intentionally discard monofilament into area waters because such lines entangle birds, marine mammals, sea turtles and fish, often killing or injuring them.

Learn more about: Dolphin Rehabilitation

You can help. Your contribution can go towards continuing rescue and care missions like Placida's for other local marine life in need.