Saving dolphins can be done without much cost

Saving animals sometimes carries a cost. Endangered species can change how land is used. Restoring crabs in the Chesapeake Bay has temporarily put watermen out of work. It’s more expensive to treat sewage than to dump it into creeks and rivers, where algae blooms can kill everything.

Sometimes, protecting animals is simpler than that. Sea turtles can be saved by keeping plastic grocery bags out of the water, where the creatures mistake them for food. If the plastic rings that hold a six pack of soda are disposed of properly, they won’t choke seabirds.

And, sometimes, the right thing can actually save money.

Pound nets are an age-old way of fishing the Bay. The stationary nets — built almost like a fence jutting from the shore — have mesh chambers where fish are trapped. They’re an efficient way of reaping the Bay’s bounty. But by their nature, pound nets are also indiscriminate, and sometimes dolphins have been among the victims.

Researchers have seen the sea mammals use the pound nets to trap fish for their own meals. But according to researchers at the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center in Virginia Beach, and reported by the Pilot’s Scott Harper, more than 60 dolphins have died tangled in pound nets since 1997.

The solution is relatively simple: Replace the mesh at the top of the nets with vertical lengths of rope. If the nets are hung that way, dolphins can escape between the ropes if they get trapped.

So what’s the catch?

It’s not effectiveness. The research shows that modifying the nets doesn’t make the nets less efficient and has actually improved the catch of Spanish mackerel.

And it’s not cost. The new nets are actually cheaper.

The catch appears to be that there is no catch, other than waiting for the pound net owners to make the switch. According to Harper’s story, at least one pound net owner is ready. Dimitri Hionis, who has worked with the scientists over the past two summers, said he plans to make the change next season.

That the nets are cheaper and even more effective makes the decision easy.

“If you can help the dolphins, then OK,” he said.