International experts confirmed the participation of the Navy Marine Mammal Program in the effort, which is expected to start sometime this spring.
Jim Fallin of the U.S. Navy Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific said Tuesday that the dolphins' participation is still in the planning stage.
The dolphins will use their natural sonar to locate the extremely elusive vaquitas, then surface and advise their handlers.
"Their specific task is to locate" vaquitas, which live only in the Gulf of California, Fallin said. "They would signal that by surfacing and returning to the boat from which they were launched."
The dolphins have been trained by the Navy for tasks like locating sea mines.
The vaquitas, the world's smallest and most endangered porpoise species, have been decimated by illegal fishing for the swim bladder of a fish, the totoaba, which is a prized delicacy in China.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 06 2017, @03:16PM
Only if it was a littoral dolphin.
(Score: 2) by Bot on Friday January 06 2017, @03:47PM
you mispelled literal^W litoral^W littorial.
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