Effects of pingers on the behaviour of bottlenose dolphins

Trials to assess the behavioural response of free-ranging bottlenose dolphins to continuous and responsive pingers were conducted. In boat based trials both types of pinger affected dolphin behaviour, while in static trials the detection of dolphin vocalisations was significantly lower in the presence of active continuous pingers.
Field Studies:

Location	Fishing gear	Reduction technique	Bycatch species	Effect on bycatch species	Catch	Effect on target catch	Type
Shannon Estuary, Ireland		Acoustic pingers	Small Cetaceans (maximum length < 7.5 meters)	Change in behaviour of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in boat based trials, change in vocalisation rate in static trials when continuous pingers were active	not applicable	not applicable	In the wild