Summary
A study was conducted in the waters off the coast of Archipelago de La Maddalena (Italy) to determine the impact bottlenose dolphins had on gillnet fisheries targeting a variety of fish species. The study showed that the catch per unit effort of target species was significantly higher when there were no dolphin interactions. There were also differences in the species composition of nets attacked and not attacked by dolphins. Those nets attacked by dolphins showed a reduction in the catch of cuttlefish and red mullet while catches of scorpionfish increased. In nets not attacked by dolphins, red mullet was the most common species. In nets attacked by dolphins, scorpionfish were the predominate species caught.