However, three of the sea mammal died along the shores of Abucay, second town in Bataan north of Pilar.
Gov. Enrique Garcia and Pilar Mayor Carlos Pizarro, Jr. led Bantay Dagat personnel, fishermen, village folks and the police in bringing the dolphins into the sea, around 500 meters away from the shores of Maasim.
At first, the sea animals were reluctant to leave the shallow shores and seemed to insist on coming back. But Garcia and the group stayed put and waited until all the dolphins were safely brought to the sea.
The governor even instructed the pilot of the newly-acquired helicopter of the provincial government to fly over the area and monitor the dolphins. “They should be guarded against commercial fisherman who might be tempted to catch them.”
Garcia said he is clueless if the lunar eclipse the night of Monday has something to do with the stranded dolphins that were seen in two groups of 500 each.
“Ngayon lamang nangyari ang ganito na napakaraming dolphin ang nakita sa Bataan,” the governor said.
Fishermen saw the dolphins in Maasim at about 2:30 in the morning and immediately went to Mayor Pizarro to report the “unusual” incident.
Garcia has directed the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in Balanga to look into the cause of death of three dolphins found in Abucay.
