Marine mammal experts have started investigating the cause of what they described as an “unusual” number of dolphins getting stranded in different coastal towns along the Lingayen Gulf recently. Records from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in the Ilocos Region showed that seven short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) had washed ashore between March 15 and March 18. In an interview on Tuesday, Hasmin Chogsayan, a veterinarian at BFAR, said only one of the beached dolphins was found dead at Barangay Germinal in Bolinao town, Pangasinan province, on March 16.

Sotelo, Y. (2022, March 24). Blast fishing eyed in dolphin stranding in Lingayen Gulf. Philippine Daily Inquirer, p. A10.