Artisanal fisherman in Greece - 14

A fisherman in Itea, Greece, displays the fish he caught with his longline.

(Photo by S. Bonizzoni)

Counting the boats

To get an idea of the percentage of fishermen and boats covered by our interviews, we eventually decided to assess the whole fishing fleet of the Gulf of Corinth. We classified all the fishing boats operating nets and longlines across about 40 ports and moorings. That gave us a chance of seeing a variety of fishing environments, talking to locals and interviewing more fishermen along the way.

(Photo by G. Bearzi, Loutraki, Greece)

Cotylorhiza, baby fish and dolphins

The baby fish hiding under a juvenile Mediterranean jelly Cotylorhiza tuberculata don't leave their shelter as striped dolphins pass by.

(Photos by S. Bonizzoni, Gulf of Corinth, Greece)

Interviewing fishermen - 12

Silvia interviewing a retired fisherman in Xilokastro, Greece. Bright, extremely kind... and the oldest interviewed so far: 89 years! 

(Photo by G. Bearzi)

Affordable happiness

Happiness is a beat-up motorboat (?).

(Photo by G. Bearzi, Gulf of Corinth, Greece)

Interviewing fishermen - 11

Silvia interviewing a fisherman in Itea, Greece.

(Photo by G. Bearzi)

Sunset

Sunset as seen from our field station.

(Photo by G. Bearzi, Galaxidi, Greece)

Striped dolphin

(Photo by S. Bonizzoni, Gulf of Corinth, Greece)

Bad day?

Our little owl looked a little angry last night :-)

(Photo by S. Bonizzoni, Galaxidi, Greece)

Interviewing fishermen - 10

Silvia interviewing a fisherman in Eratini, Greece.

(Photo by G. Bearzi)

A deepwater squid: abandoned dolphin prey?

Yesterday we were with striped dolphins when this amazing deepwater squid appeared at the surface. Dead, but very fresh and possibly just killed by the dolphins themselves.

As the dolphins moved away, we took some photos of this curious animal and then decided to take it home and... taste it. The animal, however, turned out to be made of little more than water. Contrary to other cephalopods used for human consumption, it almost completely evaporated, leaving only a spoon of gelatinous substance in the pan. It was like cooking a jellyfish.

Was the squid killed by the dolphins "for fun" (as they sometimes do with Mediterranean jelly, see THIS POST), but disregarded as a potential food item?

We shall investigate, and identify the species (Histioteuthis sp.?). We have never seen such a squid before, and while prey (e.g. European conger Conger conger) is sometimes abandoned at the surface by bottlenose dolphins, we never observed that behaviour with striped dolphins. Maybe the squid wasn't really killed by them... but having found it freshly dead in the middle of a dolphin group makes us wonder.

(Photos by G. Bearzi, Gulf of Corinth, Greece)

Too fast

This kind of speedboats sometimes cut right through a group of striped dolphins — without even noticing.

Also see THIS POST about the possibility of causing physical lesions.

(Both photos by S. Bonizzoni, Gulf of Corinth, Greece)

Found necklace

Trammel net, rope and weight. On a beach near Galaxidi, Greece.

(Both photos by G. Bearzi)

Orthodox priest

A young Orthodox priest in a traditional taverna on the small island of Trizonia. Spiritual advice may be imparted in friendly and informal settings, but priests in Greece preserve their charisma and they are deeply respected.

(Photo by G. Bearzi)

Clouds - 3

On the Gulf of Corinth, Greece.

(Photo by G. Bearzi)

Risso's and striped dolphins bowriding

Yesterday we encountered again the one Risso's dolphin living in the Gulf of Corinth. It is the second time this year.

We were following a group of striped dolphins when a ship passed by. In front of its bow we recognized the familiar silhouette of Yaya, who was bowriding together with several other striped dolphins.

Like the smaller dolphins, Yaya could leap and swim at a speed of 17 km/h. The group went on bowriding for several minutes before they separated from the ship.

We managed to photograph Yaya's dorsal fin and confirm her identification, before a strong wind forced us back to the port.

(Both photos by S. Bonizzoni)

Dolphins and clouds

Striped dolphins bowride while the surface mirrors a cloudy sky. 

(Photo by G. Bearzi, Gulf of Corinth, Greece)

Clouds - 2

On the Gulf of Corinth, Greece.

(Photo by S. Bonizzoni)

Clouds - 1

On the Gulf of Corinth, Greece.

(Photo by G. Bearzi)

Interviewing fishermen - 9

Silvia interviewing a fisherman in Eratini, Greece.

(Photo by G. Bearzi)

Hooked sea turtle

On September 2nd we found this loggerhead sea turtle Caretta caretta, likely drowned after being hooked on a fishing longline.

Bycatch in longlines is a relatively common source of mortality among sea turtles in the Gulf of Corinth (and elsewhere). Of 7 sea turtles found dead in this area since 2009, 3 had fishing line protruding from their mouth.

A video featuring an encounter with a hooked dead animal can be viewed HERE.

For the record, during our dolphin surveys in the Gulf of Corinth we encountered a total of 69 loggerhead sea turtles alive. One of them was entangled in a piece of trammel net and another one had ingested a hook and was dragging a long fishing line. Both were disentangled and released.

(Photos by G. Bearzi)

Eclypse

Pat Metheny -- Tell Her You Saw Me (from Secret Story, 1992)

Dolphins' rostra

Three striped dolphins expose their rostra.

Incidentally, a dolphin's rostrum isn't a "nose", but of course the mouth's tip. That holds true for "bottlenose" dolphins.

(Photo by S. Bonizzoni, Gulf of Corinth, Greece)

Interviewing fishermen - 8

Silvia interviewing a trammel fisherman in Eratini, Greece. We are learning so much from these interviews!

(Photo by G. Bearzi)

Left eye, right eye

This short-beaked common dolphin, a female, was particularly interested in the people on board. She often came to inspect the photographer who protruded from the bow, with both of her beautiful eyes. 

(Photos by G. Bearzi, Gulf of Corinth, Greece)