Thousands of dolphins in ‘feeding frenzy’ off Blacksod coast

Thousands of dolphins in ‘feeding frenzy’ off Blacksod coast


Anton McNulty

Over 1,000 dolphins were spotted off the Blacksod coast last week in what was described as a ‘feeding frenzy’ rarely seen in such numbers.
The pod of dolphins were spotted off the coast of the Iniskea Islands by Anthony Irwin on Thursday afternoon last with in excess of 1,000 common dolphins counted in the one area, Anthony who runs Dúlra Nature Tours from Blacksod told The Mayo News that you are guaranteed to see dolphins off the coast 98 per cent of the time but never in these numbers.
“There was a lot of energy out there in the water. We encounter dolphins 98 per cent of the time but not in numbers this great. The conservative estimate is that there were 1,000 dolphins but there was a lot more than 1,000. Last year we encountered between 400 and 500 common dolphins but this was as far as the eye could see,” he said.
Anthony explained that the dolphins were ‘not there for the scenery’ and were chasing mackerel and plankton bloom in the waters.
“When we first encountered them they were swimming from north to south against the tide and as the tide turned they’d move north. This was all about food for them, they were not there for the scenery. There is a serious amount of produce in the water for them to feed on. It was a feeding frenzy.”