Evidence of hearing loss due to dynamite fishing in two species of odontocetes

Aude F. Pacini, Paul E. Nachtigall, Adam B. Smith, Leo J.A. Suarez, Carlo Magno, Gail E. Laule, Lemnuel V.
Aragones, and Robert Braun

Citation: Proc. Mtgs. Acoust. 27, 010043 (2016);

View online: https://doi.org/10.1121/2.0000393
View Table of Contents: http://asa.scitation.org/toc/pma/27/1
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Volume 27 http://acousticalsociety.org/

Fourth International Conference on

the Effects of Noise on Aquatic Life
Dublin, Ireland
10-16 July 2016

Evidence of hearing loss due to dynamite fishing

in two species of odontocetes
Aude F. Pacini, Paul E. Nachtigall and Adam B. Smith
Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology,University of Hawaii at Manoa, Kaneohe HI, aude@hawaii.edu;
nachtiga@hawaii.edu; adambsmi@hawaii.edu
Leo J.A. Suarez and Carlo Magno
Ocean Adventure, Subic Bay Freeport Zone, Philippines, ljasuarez@oceanadventure.com.ph;
cgmagno@oceanadventure.com.ph
Gail E. Laule
Wildlife in Need, Subic Bay Freeport Zone, Philippines, moonshadowe@earthlink.net
Lemnuel V. Aragones
Institute of Environmental Science and Meteorology, University of the Philippines, Philippines,
laragones@iesm.upd.edu.ph
Robert Braun
DVM, Montana, USA, rbraunhawaii@gmail.com
Blast fishing is an illegal and unsustainable practice that is often reported in Southeast Asia and Africa.
Its impact on fish and reef-building corals is well documented, yet there is limited information on the
effects on other larger species and near-shore predators. In recent years, several marine mammal
strandings in the Philippines have coincided with underwater explosions associated with blast fishing.
The goal of this study was to measure the hearing of stranded dolphins, including two spinner dolphins
(Stenella longirostris) and two rough-toothed dolphins (Steno bredanensis), that were rehabilitated in
Subic Bay at Ocean Adventure in cooperation with the Philippines Marine Mammal Stranding
Network and Wildlife in Need. Hearing measurements were conducted using noninvasive auditory
brain stem responses (ABRs). Test stimuli consisted of tone pips ranging from 8 to 128 kHz. The
results indicated elevated thresholds and limited hearing range, including three individuals with no
hearing response beyond 22.5 kHz. These results may indicate evidence of hearing loss associated with
blast and related impulsive sound exposure.

Published by the Acoustical Society of America

© 2017 Acoustical Society of America [DOI: 10.1121/2.0000393]

Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics, Vol. 27, 010043 (2017) Page 1
A. F. Pacini et al. Dynamite fishing and hearing loss in dolphins

1. INTRODUCTION
Considerable effort has been invested in understanding the effects of anthropogenic sound on
marine life. These efforts primarily focus on large geographically distributed events such as naval
exercises and oil exploration. However, smaller local and regional activities are rarely quantified or
taken into account when investigating population and ecosystem stressors. Dynamite fishing is an
example of an activity in which stressors commonly occur in Southeast Asia and coastal Africa. Similar
to other explosives, this unsustainable and illegal practice can generate two types of injuries on marine
life: those from the initial blast wave and those from the acoustic pressure generated by the explosion
(Ketten, 1995). Dynamite fishing is fairly well documented primarily because of its destructive effects
on reef building corals (Fox et al, 2003).
In the Philippines, national fishing efforts represent over one million fishermen out of which 12%
are believed to be conducted with dynamite fishing. This method is readily available and cheap to
produce as it only requires a combination of gasoline and ammonium nitrate fertilizer mixed in a small
bottle (Green et al, 2003; Saila et al, 1993).
The Philippines is considered a center for marine biodiversity with about 28 species of whales and
dolphins observed in the region (Aragones, 2013). Historical whaling has been extensively described,
and despite the efforts of local authorities to warn the population of the potential dangers of consuming
whale and dolphin meat, this practice is still occurring (Acebes, 2009). It is believed that the driving
force behind it is related to a ‘fishing up the food chain’ effect (Dolar et al, 1994) where a decline in
coastal fish has pushed fishermen to become less selective and to shift their target species to mammals.
Unlike other regions where this practice is often described, dynamite fishing in the Philippines
occurs primarily in deeper waters where fishermen target pelagic species such as Jacks (Carangidae),
Mullets (Mugilidae), and Rabbit fish (Siganidae) as well as anchovies (Engraulidae). In total, up to 75
species from 24 families have been documented being targeted by fish bombing (Saila et al, 1993).
Aragones et al. (2010) has hypothesized that “acoustic trauma” from dynamite fishing was one of
the three potential causes for the significant proportion of reported live cetacean strandings (65%) in
the Philippines. This study investigated the hearing of 4 dolphins that exhibited symptoms consistent
with blast trauma and were undergoing rehabilitation at Ocean Adventure in Subic Bay, Philippines.

2. MATERIALS AND METHODS

A. SUBJECTS
Two female spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris) and two adult rough-toothed dolphins (Steno
bredanensis) (one male and one female) stranded on the Western Coast of Luzon Island between 2014
and 2015. The animals were successfully rehabilitated at Ocean Adventure, however concerns about
the circumstances of their strandings associated with reports of dynamite fishing prompted the
Philippines Marine Mammal Stranding Network and Ocean Adventure to request that hearing
measurements of these animals be conducted to evaluate the possibility of releasing the dolphins.

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A. F. Pacini et al. Dynamite fishing and hearing loss in dolphins

Figure 1. Hearing measurements conducted on a spinner dolphin

B. HEARING ASSESSMENT
Hearing measurements were conducted using a portable Auditory Evoked Potential (AEP) system
used previously in studies by Nachtigall and Supin (2014). Test stimuli ranged from 8 to 128 kHz and
were presented as tone pip trains that were 16 ms in duration. Each pip contained either 8 or 10 cycles
and were modulated at a 1 kHz rate. Sound Pressure Levels (SPL) were changed in 5 dB steps using a
custom made attenuator. Acoustic stimuli were synthesized using a personal laptop and a custom made
LabView (National Instrument, Austin, TX, USA) program. The signals were amplified using a custom
made amplifier. Acoustic stimuli were presented using an ITC 1032 (International Transducer
Corporation, Santa Barbara, USA) for frequencies up to 32 kHz and with a Reson 4013 (Slangerup,
Denmark) for higher frequencies. The projectors were positioned 1 meter in front of the animal’s head
at a 30 cm depth. Sound stimuli were digitized using a USD 6212 data acquisition card connected to a
personal laptop.
Hearing measurements were collected using gold electrodes embedded in suction cups while the
animals were held at the surface of the water with their lower jaws submerged. The brain response was
amplified by 60 dB using a custom made bioamplifier (using a AD620 chip, Analog Device, Norwood,
MA, USA) from 200 to 5000 Hz. The signal was filtered from 300 to 3,000 Hz and digitized using a
16 bit analog to digital converter channel on the same data acquisition card used for sound stimulus.
Envelope following responses (EFR) to tone pip trains were averaged 1,000 times per trial. A 16

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A. F. Pacini et al. Dynamite fishing and hearing loss in dolphins

th st
ms section of the averaged EFR was further extracted from 5 to 21 ms and Fast Fourier Transformed.
The peak magnitude at the modulation rate of 1 kHz was used as a proxy to the hearing response; this
magnitude was plotted against the corresponding SPL of the acoustic stimulus. Response magnitudes
were plotted against the SPL of the acoustic stimulus. Using criteria similar to Nachtigall et al. (2015),
a regression line and its zero intercept were used for threshold estimation (Supin and Popov, 2007)

3. RESULTS
The preliminary audiograms for all four animals indicated that the hearing of at least three animals
was impaired. The audiograms of the two rough toothed and one of the spinner dolphins did not follow
the U-shaped curve usually observed in odontocetes. Thresholds were elevated with lowest detectable
responses around 110 dB re 1µPa and no responses could be detected above 32 kHz (Figure 2).
For one of the spinner dolphins, the overall auditory curve followed the typical U-shaped observed in
odontocetes with low thresholds and overall best hearing from 16 to 90 kHz.

160

140
Spinner dolphin 1 Valentina
120
re 1µPa at 1m)
SPL (dB rms

Rough-toothed dolphin 1
100
April
80 Spinner dolphin 2 Scarlet

60 Rough-toothed dolphin 2
Hero
40
1 10 100
Frequency (kHz)

Figure 2. Audiograms of four subjects

Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics, Vol. 27, 010043 (2017) Page 4

A. F. Pacini et al. Dynamite fishing and hearing loss in dolphins

4. DISCUSSION
The differences observed in the measured audiograms can be attributed to several factors.
Variations in hearing in marine mammal populations have been observed (Castellote et al, 2014).
Hearing loss in stranded animals has also been documented (André et al, 2003; Mann et al, 2010) and
hearing loss in captive dolphins has been reported in numerous studies (Ridway et al, 1997; Houser et
al, 2006). Surprisingly however, 3 out of the 4 subjects tested in the present study show a lack of
functional hearing and the observed differences were dramatic between the ‘deaf’ animals and the other
spinner dolphin. While it is difficult to clearly identify what could have caused the dramatic hearing
loss observed in most subjects, one might logically argue that dynamite fishing might be causing such
unusual results. The stranding network responders and local fishery representatives have conducted
interviews with local communities that systematically reported hearing blasts occurring for several
hours in the vicinity of the stranding sites (Aragones, pers comm). Aragones et al. 2010 documented
a near mass stranding in Manila Bay involving 200-250 melon-headed whales. The likely cause was
dynamite blasts used by fishers in an attempt to stun the fish around the Fish Aggregating Devices
(FAD) located about 10-15 km away from the coastline of Zambales-Bataan provinces. It appears that
dynamite fishing is becoming a common practice by fishermen in the Philippine waters, particularly
in western Luzon areas as these harbor the largest population of fishermen in the entire country.
Whether the actual blast or the long distance acoustic energy are involved in the observed results
is beyond the scope of this work and the results cannot provide any indication of the animals’
proximity to an underwater explosion. For the female spinner dolphin with the best hearing range,
additional investigation looking at audiograms available in the literature revealed that the animal
likely suffered some degree of high frequency hearing loss. Kastelein and colleagues (2003)
investigated the hearing of a striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) using behavioral methods. Their
results indicated that the animal's range of best hearing was up to 128 kHz. In contrast, Valentina’s
audiogram revealed limited high frequency hearing past 90 kHz. While there are significant
differences in the methods between behavioral and AEP used between this study and Kastelein’s
work, past studies have shown that the overall hearing curve should be comparable in terms of
hearing range (Yuen et al, 2005).
These results provide anecdotal yet important clues on the effects of underwater explosives on
marine life. More importantly, they also provide strong evidence of fishing strategy shift in which
dynamite fishing affects top predators directly and consequently the entire food web . Whether
marine mammals are targeted by dynamite fishermen is still unknown. There have been reports of
cetacean meat consumption in the Philippines but it is also plausible that dolphins are by-catch.
Finally, these results provide additional evidence that hearing measurements of stranded animals
represent a valuable tool to assess whether a release can be considered.

5. CONCLUSION
The results presented in this study were collected in partnership with Ocean Adventure to
investigate hearing and sound production in stranded animals. This projects emphasizes the
importance of collaborative work with local communities to balance adaptive management strategies
with economic and social pressures.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors would like to thank Alexander Supin for his continuous assistance, Tim Desmond
and the staff at Ocean Adventure for their time, support and generosity and one reviewer for their

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A. F. Pacini et al. Dynamite fishing and hearing loss in dolphins

feedbacks during the preparation of this manuscript. This work was funded by the Sea World Busch
Gardens Conservation Fund. The equipment was funded by the Office of Naval Research for which
we thank Dr. Mike Weise. All the work was conducted in compliance with University of Hawaii at
Manoa IACUC and conducted under NMFS permit #16053 to PE Nachtigall.

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