Dolphin Tales: Co-owner of restaurant spearheads dolphin rescue
It was a typical day in September for John Lynch, co-owner of Blue Dog Bar & Grill in Matlacha. In fact, it was his birthday. His birthday tradition is to head out early in the morning for a little fishing and reflection. This birthday brought an unexpected blessing in disguise.
John noticed that something was amiss on one of the sandbars behind his home in Matlacha. He pulled his boat up near the sandbar and saw two dolphins were beached. A large male and a juvenile.
Around the same time, a young angler named Johathan pulled up to the sandbar on his Gheenoe. He was able to free the juvenile dolphin but the adult male was over 500 pounds. John stayed and waited for help. He told me that when that dolphin looked him in the eye and John knew it was alive, John could not leave. A connection was made.
John, a retired fire fighter, had an experience of a lifetime on his birthday. He stayed with the dolphin for 90 minutes waiting for help to arrive. He kept the dolphin hydrated and comforted with his voice and touch. His wife, Tammey, assisted in keeping the animal calm as well as covering the blowhole while buckets of water were being poured over the animal to hydrate the skin. Slowly, help began to arrive. PIFD, LCSO, Manatee Rescue, as well as local boaters.
The dolphin was saved. However, John said that when they pulled the dolphin to safety in the water, the dolphin rested in his arms for quite some time before finally swimming away. A moment in time most people will never experience.
There are many reasons for dolphins to become stranded. One of them is a fishing strategy which I believe played a role in this stranding. During low tide, schools of mullet get stranded and have nowhere to hide. Dolphin can echolocate the fish. They sense them underwater from a football field away. The dolphins herd the mullet against the shoreline, assemble into formation, and then rush the shore. At 400 pounds or more each, the dolphins could get stuck on the shore and die from sunburn or just from their own crushing weight out of water.
Capt. Cathy Eagle has spent over 45 years boating our local waters. As a professional charter captain, she specializes in dolphin and nature tours. For more information, visit CaptainCathy.com or text/call at 239-994-2572.