CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Texas Parks and Wildlife crews have completed hands-on dolphin rescue training ahead of a planned resumption of gillnet sampling in Gulf waters this weekend.
The training comes after the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration suspended gillnet use in Texas waters in May 2024, following a rise in dolphin entanglements. Texas Parks and Wildlife has since received permits to resume fish population sampling.
The training focused on keeping dolphins at the surface so they can breathe, cutting away nets quickly, and recognizing when an animal needs rescue versus when it can swim away safely. Crews also covered communication protocols and dolphin biology.
Jessie Gilbert, president and CEO of Oceans and Wildlife Institute, said the training reflects a responsible approach to resuming operations.
"Parks and Wildlife is doing the responsible thing to make sure that their coastal fishery staff are very well trained in how to identify a dolphin in the net, be able to detangle it, and then actually watch and make sure that dolphin is OK after the entanglement."
Perry Trial, regional director of Lower Coast Fisheries Management for Texas Parks and Wildlife, said entanglements have been rare over the agency's decades of sampling work.
"We've been doing this sampling for over 50 years. Over the years we've had very few interactions with the dolphins, a total of a little over 40 interactions, about two-thirds of those were released unharmed."
Dara Orbach, associate professor of marine biology at Texas A&M University of Corpus Christi, said preparation is the most critical factor in preventing dolphin deaths.
"Having this education and preparedness is really important and probably the number one tool to prevent mortalities from happening. Just having that preparedness, communication, thinking about these things in advance, knowing how to respond quickly where every minute counts, is going to make a big difference in the survival of dolphins which may, but hopefully won't be entangled."
Dolphins are a common sight near Roberts Point in Port Aransas, where visitors regularly spot them in the Gulf waters.
If you see a dolphin in distress anywhere along the Texas coast, experts say not to approach it. Instead, call the Wildlife Rescue Hotline.
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