Fifteen Pacific white-sided dolphins temporarily became trapped in a shallow tidal pool near Qualicum Beach on May 16.
The DFO responded to the incident, which saw the dolphins become isolated during low tide in water that was approximately three feet to four feet deep.
“DFO personnel co-ordinated the response and ensured a large group of onlookers maintained a safe distance to avoid further stressing the animals and allow the dolphins to exit naturally with the incoming high tide,” the DFO told the PQB News.
At approximately 6:15 p.m., after about 12 hours, the dolphins crossed the sandbar and returned to deeper waters on their own.
The Marine Mammal Regulations prohibit disturbance to marine mammals.
Disturbance includes approaching the marine mammal to, or to attempt to: feed it; swim with it or interact with it; move it or entice or cause it to move from the immediate vicinity in which it is found; separate it from members of its group or go between it and a calf; trap it or its group between a vessel and the shore or between a vessel and one or more other vessels; or tag or mark it.
These regulations apply to all types of watercraft, including boats, kayaks and paddleboards.
National approach distances require distance of 200 metres when a whale, dolphin or porpoise is in a resting position or with a calf and 100 metres away for other whales, porpoises and dolphins, according to the DFO.
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