Swimmers under investigation for ‘aggressively harassing’ pod of dolphins

Dozens of people are being investigated by police after ‘harassing’ a pod of wild dolphins.

Hawaiian authorities were alerted to a large group of people pursuing the animals off Honaunau Bay on Sunday.

Aerial footage shot by a drone shows the snorkelers chasing the dolphins as they swim away.

All together, 33 people are being accused of ‘aggressively pursuing, corralling and harassing the pod’.

The group were ‘aggressively pursuing, corralling and harassing’ the wild pod (Picture: AP)

Enforcement officers were able to stop them while they were in the water.

It is against federal law to swim within 45 metres of spinner dolphins in Hawaii’s nearshore waters.

The prohibition came into effect in 2021 after concerns were raised the nocturnal animals were not getting enough rest during the day to be able to forage for food at night.

Hawaii’s spinner dolphins eat fish and small crustaceans that surface from the ocean’s depths at night.

Hawaii authorities say they have referred 33 people to US law enforcement (Picture: AP)

When the sun rises, they head for shallow bays to hide from tiger sharks and other predators.

To the untrained eye, the dolphins appear to be awake during the day because they are swimming.

But because they sleep by resting half of their brains and keeping the other half awake to surface and breathe, they may be asleep even when manoeuvring through the water.

The group were ‘aggressively pursuing, corralling and harassing’ the wild pod.