These animals exhibit darker grey band, which stretches from the eye to the flipper and is fringed above with a thin light stripe. Some interactions with people in essential daytime habitats may disturb individual dolphins or resting groups.Response to disturbance varies among individuals, but ultimately diverts time and energy from fitness-enhancing activities. The animal is known for its acrobatic tricks, which include spinning high in the air or bow-riding.The Spinner dolphin is generally pelagic animal, distributed across the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans. Once we establish the photo catalogs, we can also use them to evaluate species abundance using mark-recapture techniques.Our cetacean scientists are active participants in the Pacific Islands Photo-Identification Network (PIPIN). They live for about 20 years, with some individuals living for at least 25 years. Each animal has its own unique frequency, which helps identify individuals.When foraging, these animals are capable of diving at a depth of 900 feet, remaining submerged for up to 8 minutes.Spinner dolphins can feed at any time of the day. Spinner dolphins inhabit tropical waters around the globe and are a member of the toothed whale family. The proposed rule would prohibit swimming with and approaching a Hawaiian spinner dolphin within 50 yards…,NOAA Fisheries has issued an incidental harassment authorization (IHA) to the Scripps Institute of Oceanography (SIO) to incidentally harass, by Level B harassment only, marine mammals during a low-energy marine geophysical survey in the South Atlantic…,NOAA Fisheries  issued an incidental harassment authorization (IHA) to the Scripps Institute of Oceanography (SIO) to incidentally harass, by Level A and Level B harassment, marine mammals during a low-energy marine geophysical survey in the Southwest…,NOAA Fisheries, upon request from the U.S. Navy (Navy), has issued regulations pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) to govern the taking of marine mammals incidental to the training and testing activities conducted in the Mariana Islands…,NOAA Fisheries has issued regulations pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) to govern the taking of marine mammals incidental to the training and testing activities conducted in the Hawaii-Southern California Training and Testing (HSTT)…,Stay informed of all the latest regional news around NOAA Fisheries,Six Reasons Why You Should Not Swim with Wild Spinner Dolphins,Snorkelers Fined for Pursuing Hawaiian Spinner Dolphins,Tour Operator Fined for Harassing Hawaiian Spinner Dolphins,Heading to the High Seas: Hawaiian Islands Cetacean and Ecosystem Assessment Survey,Old Friends in New Places: Cetacean Research in the Western Pacific,Cited References for Hawaiian Spinner Dolphin Proposed Rule,Hawaiian Spinner Dolphin Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Regulatory Impact Review,Question of the Week: Dolphins and Whales on the High Seas,NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION,Report a Stranded or Injured Marine Animal,Protected Resources Regulations & Actions,Learn more about our conservation efforts,Learn more about our marine life viewing guidelines >,Learn who you should contact when you encounter a stranded or injured marine animal >,NOAA Office of Law Enforcement field office,Six reasons why you should not swim with wild spinner dolphins,Learn more about the Dolphin-Safe/Tuna Tracking and Verification Program,Learn more about the Dolphin SMART Program,Notice of Intent (NOI) to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement,Enhancing Protections for Hawaiian Spinner Dolphins.Proposed rule for protective regulations for Hawaiian spinner dolphins.Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.Draft Environmental Impact Statement & Regulatory Impact Review,Q&A - Hawaiian Spinner Dolphin Proposed Rule,Incidental Take Authorization: Scripps Institute of Oceanography Low-Energy Geophysical Survey in the South Atlantic Ocean,Incidental Take Authorization: Low-Energy Geophysical Survey in the Southwest Atlantic Ocean,Incidental Take Authorization: U.S. Navy Mariana Islands Training and Testing (MITT),Notification and Reporting Plan (pdf, 4 pages),Incidental Take Authorization: U.S. Navy Hawaii-Southern California Training and Testing (HSTT) (2018-2025),Notice of Receipt of Application for 2 Year Extension,Application for Extension (pdf, 84 pages),LOA and Rule Application (pdf, 580 pages),Environmental Impact Statement (External Link),Final Biological Opinion (pdf, 683 pages).Increased displays such as leaping, spinning, or tail slapping when closely approached by vessels and swimmers.Avoidance behaviors, including increased swimming speed and moving away from swimmers and vessels, or leaving the bay in response to human pursuit.Aggressive behaviors directed at people, including charging or threat displays.Blockage of the digestive tract, resulting in starvation that often leads to death,Reductions in quality of life and/or reproductive capacity.Introduction and/or concentration of damaging or toxic compounds to the animal.Distance between the source and the animal,Characteristics of the animal (for example, hearing sensitivity, behavioral context, age, sex, and previous experience with sound source),Time of day or season (which affects how sound travels through the water).Proposing enhanced protections of Hawaiian spinner dolphins through regulatory action under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.Promoting sustainable and legal wildlife viewing practices among the tourism industry and local communities.Developing research priorities to monitor spinner dolphin abundance, health, and threats (such as human disturbance).Managing programs that support the protection and conservation of spinner dolphins, including.Educating the public on minimizing spinner dolphin disturbance by providing outreach programs and educational materials.Research such as photo-identification studies.Level A harassment—injure a marine mammal or marine mammal stock in the wild.Level B harassment—disturb a marine mammal or marine stock in the wild by causing disruption of behavioral patterns, including, but not limited to, migration, breathing, nursing, breeding, feeding, or sheltering.Partial (time-area based) closures for certain spinner dolphin resting habitats,Regulation of human behavior while in NOAA Fisheries-identified spinner dolphin resting areas,Complete closure of all known spinner dolphin resting areas in the Main Hawaiian Islands.Visual observations for cetaceans, including photo-identification, biopsy sampling, and satellite tagging.Passive acoustic monitoring using towed hydrophone arrays and other tools.Ecosystem assessment, including visual surveys for seabirds and measurement of oceanographic variables. Schools of these dolphins have been seen mixed with groups of Pantropical spotted dolphins or Small toothed whales. During daytime hours, the island-associated stocks of Hawaiian spinner dolphins seek sanctuary in nearshore waters, where they return to certain areas to socialize, rest, and nurture their young. Gestation period lasts for 10.6 months, yielding a single baby. Numerous organizations around the country are trained and ready to respond.

Spinner dolphin prey species follow a vertical and horizontal migration pattern, staying in deep waters in the ocean during the day, and then moving up in the water column (vertical migration) and inshore (horizontal migration) at night. The acronym SMART stands for:In 2005, NOAA Fisheries convened a Spinner Dolphin Working Group to behance protections for Hawaiian spinner dolphins from human disturbance. We estimate that there are upwards of 70 tour operators that provide dolphin-directed tours focused on Hawaiian spinner dolphins.