In many places coastal bottlenose dolphins eat small schooling fish called mullet which they herd into shallow water, using the shore as a barrier. Humans also feed on mullet which they catch in nets along the shore. In several places in Australia, Africa and Brazil, dolphins and humans appear to cooperate, trapping the mullet between them, though humans are probably just taking advantage of dolphin fishing tactics. There are a number of cases in which an individual or a group of dolphins routinely interacts with humans over many years. At Shark Bay in Australia an entire tourist industry has developed to serve the 150,000 people who come each year to swim with a friendly group of bottlenose dolphins.
People worry that the pollution caused by the tourists is endangering the dolphins.
A few wild dolphins are not so gentle and have pushed swimmers out to sea and smashed surf boards. Finally, bottlenose dolphins are widely recognized because they are the most frequent species seen in aquariums, television and movies. Living along coasts worldwide, they are easy to collect and well adapted to life in oceanariums where there are a nu mber of successful breeding programs. Dolphin Differences There are differences among bottlenose dolphins. Coastal animals are smaller and lighter in color than those that live far out in the ocean.