Bottlenose dolphins follow a trawler off the coast of Veneto, Italy. Dolphin Biology and Conservation

Off the eastern coast of Italy, large numbers of bottlenose dolphins are looking to fishing trawlers as a source of food, a sign that dolphins may be struggling to feed themselves in waters depleted by overfishing.

Dolphins in the Adriatic Sea are most drawn to otter trawlers, which drag a large conical net near the ocean floor, according to the study, published in Frontiers in Mammal Science . Dolphins trailed 26 percent of otter trawlers near Veneto and 76 percent near Marche, eating discarded fish or darting into moving nets to gather food.

“We estimated that the bottlenose dolphin populations of Veneto and Marche, combined, exceed 1,000 individuals,” said coauthor Silvia Bonizzoni, head of the group Dolphin Biology and Conservation.…