Man on Jet Ski Caught Harassing Pod of Dolphins — Now He’s Paying The Price For It
There is a mysterious relationship between animals and humans. While animals feed humans’ appetite for tasting the wild, humans are the guardians designed for the purpose of protecting them. It’s all in perfecting the chemistry. But some humans, it seems, haven’t educated themselves enough on the art of dealing with animals. A man has been issued a police warning for using his jet ski to deliberately disturb a pod of dolphins in St Austell Bay, nestling in the south coast of Cornwall, according to a report by the BBC News.
Known for its sunlit golden sand beaches, the horseshoe-shaped bay cradles a bounty of wildlife rumbling and buzzing within the groves of pine, oak, and ash. Visitors walk along hedges and bridges to wander in the scenic clay trails where deposits of pinkish China clay sit in underground pits. According to St Austell Town, this salmon pink clay gave the Financial Times its pinky colour. The seagrass meadows peppered through the coastline are home to seahorses who lie there basking in the Sun while pods of dolphins inside the seawaters jump in sheer abandon of life. In June 2025, this man attempted to disturb one such pod by misusing his jet ski.
After the incident caught the attention of police authorities, he was issued a “Community protection warning.” Devon and Cornwall Police said the man was seen to deliberately approach the dolphins and encouraged others to do the same, per the news outlet. Sergeant Martin Easter from Cornwall said this man "had no regard for the dolphins or how his deliberate behaviour could cause a disturbance, even hailing for more people to come over and join him in doing so." Adding to the statement, he noted that the suspect was “lucky to have a vast amount of wildlife across the bays,” but the fact that he didn’t “respect their safety” could not be dismissed by the police.
"We ask that people enjoy our waters, but to make sure they do so safely and responsibly," the Sergeant cautioned. After this incident, the police force instructed people to stay at least 330 feet away from marine mammals while wandering near or inside the ocean. If it is not possible to stay entirely at a distance from the dolphins, it is advisable to leave as much space as possible.
Quoting the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, the BBC described that “intentionally and recklessly disturbing playful dolphins, porpoises, whales, and basking sharks is illegal” and is subject to “severe penalties and punishments for violation.” Furthermore, a breach of the police warning could result in prosecution under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act.
This is not the only incident where humans have pestered dolphins with their jet skis. In August 2022, a man named Stephen Michael White was found guilty after witnesses reported the incident from Broughton Strait, near Port McNeill. The man was deemed guilty of disturbing a pod of Pacific white-sided dolphins and was charged a fine of $5,000. He was also prohibited by the authorities from posting any content related to marine mammals on his social media, according to a report by Times Colonist.
Meanwhile, the culprit from Cornwall has been banned from chasing dolphins. Thanks to the police force that all those bottlenose, Risso’s, and striped dolphins can now call the ocean waters their home, a home where they are safe and will not be bothered by pesky humans.
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