Dolphin Watch and Eco Tour

    The Dolphin Watch went out from the south end of the island, into Laguna Madre bay. There are about 3 from the island and one from Port Isabel. It lasted about 2 hours.  There were about 20 people on the boat. For the Eco Tour part , they dropped a net out the back of the boat and drug it along the bottom to catch stuff. They caught a few fish, hermit crab, blue crab , and snails. They talked about each one and then put them back into the water. The water there was about 6 to 8 feet deep.

     We saw several dolphins. They are the Alantic Bottlenose dolphin. In the bay they weigh about 300 pounds. A dolphin is like a goldfish in that it grows to the size of the environment. In the ocean, they get up to 600 pounds. They are mammals. They come up for air. If they get scared, they can hold their breath for 20 minutes underwater. The baby is born in the water. The mother guides it to the surface for air. A baby nurses from and swims beside it's mother for 3 years. I did see a couple moms and babies. They are in perfect form together when they come up. Dolphins make funny high pitched,  squeaking noises. When they surfaced, I could hear them. The water they were in was about 20 -30 feet deep.

     The center of the channel was being dregged out to make it 60 feet deep so the oil tanker ships can get through to the Port of Brownsville.