Introduction | What are dolphins? | Do you know dolphins like us? | Save dolphins from tuna nets | Conclusion | References
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Saving Dolphins from Tuna Nets

Introduction

I believe many people have a dream about adopting animals. Which animals do you want to adopt? My dream animal is a dolphin.
Recently, I read an article called "Save dolphins from tuna net. I was so surprised that some tuna fishers encircle nets on dolphins to catch tuna fish below. This is a new technique for tuna fishing, however, millions dolphins die in tuna nets. Most people do not understand how valuable dolphins are and actually safe of dolphins is an instance to balance our environment.
The purpose of this paper is to introduce what dolphins are, characterize the similarities between dolphins and human beings, and explaini the problems thousands of dolphins have died in nets. The more you know about dolphins, the more we can appreciate them.

Image Copyright 2001 http://www.geocities.com/welcometodolphinworld/dolphinsatbottom.html Used with Permission


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What are dolphins?

Dolphins are kinds of sea mammal that looks like a large fish with a pointed mouth. Actually, they are small toothed whale. There are more than 50 species of dolphins in the world, including the true, or beaked, dolphins, the killer whale, the pilot whale, and 12 freshwater species found in rivers of South America and South Asia. Bottlenose Dolphins are one of the most wide-ranging species.
Two species of dolphins we are familiar with are common dolphins and bottle-nosed dolphins. The common dolphin has a black or dark blue upper body, and a white underbody. It is usually 2.4 m in length and 75 kg in weight. On the other hand, the bottle-nosed dolphin is blue gray with a dorsal fin and white belly. It is often 2.7 m and weight 160 kg.

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Do you know dolphins like us?

Dolphins and humans have a lot of thing in common. For example, we are both mammals, so we breathe air and are warm-blooded. Furthermore, dolphins are capable of memorization and imitation. That is why we say they are so intelligent. According to Regina Blackstock's researches, the brain size of a bottle-nose is comparable to ours at birth, and during their lifetime develops well into the upper levels for the maximum size for modern man.

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Saving dolphins from tuna nets

The "dolphin-save" tuna label was established in 1990 to protect dolphins from tuna fisherman who capture, harm, and abused them. It ensured that any tuna caught by netting dolphins could not be labeled "dolphin-save" and sold in the United States.
However, the modern fishing fleet harvests the sea indiscriminately. It does not distinguish between fish and mammals, so thousands of dolphins have died in nets. In addition, some fishermen trap dolphins in the seine nets to attract groups of tuna. It is not only illegal, but also crude.

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Conclusion

As you can see from my paper, you know more about dolphins. Do you think they are so cute and intelligent that we can not lose them? In fact, everyone has the responsibility for protecting them from die. Try our best! Saving dolphins from tuna nets.

References

1. Environmental News Network.(1999). [Online]. Available: http://www.cnn.com/TECH/science/9902/04/dolphins.enn/(2001,April 18)
2. ENN Daily News.(1997, April 10)
http://www.enn.com/enn-news-archive/1997/04/04109703.asp/(2001, April 23)
3. Friends of the ocean(2001, April 19)
http://www.friendsoftheocean.org/si_dolphin.htm
4. Dolphin world(2001, April 20)
http://www.geocities.com
5. Dolphins and Man.....Equals?(by Regina Blackstock written May 1970)
(2001, April 22)
6. Save dolphins from tuna nets
http://www.savedolphins.org
7.Pam Kelly(?????@jfhdjkhj.com). (2001, April 11). Save Dolphins At The Oklahoma City Zoo. E-mail to Amy Lee(????????@hotmail.com).*

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*The e-mail addresses have been changed to minimize spamming of the authors.
First created: April 10, 2001 / Last updated: April 30, 2001
Paper written by Yin-wen, Chen (http://www.eslnetworld.com/class/yinwen/)