For many people, spotting a dolphin is a highlight of any day on the water. But for researchers, those moments represent something much bigger.

“These animals are our closest human analog in our waters,” said Ruth Carmichael, senior marine scientist at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab and professor at the University of South Alabama. “They are eating the same fish that we’re out fishing. They are swimming in the same waters where we are swimming.”

During March, being Dolphin Awareness Month, researchers along the Alabama Gulf Coast are taking the opportunity to showcase the role dolphins play in the local environment — and what their presence signals about the health of the water.

For Mackenzie Russell, stranding programs manager for the Alabama Marine Mammal Stranding Network, the awareness month is about helping people better understand that connection and how to protect it.

“Designating a whole month to them is a really wonderful thing to raise awareness of how we can better protect our waterways,” Russell said.

The dolphins most people see locally are bottlenose dolphins, and they are not just passing through.

“They live here year round,” Russell said. “They are residents of Mobile Bay and Perdido Bay and the Gulf waters just off Alabama.”

Scientists have learned a lot more about this shared space in recent years. Research now estimates about 1,500 dolphins live in Mobile Bay alone, a number far higher than earlier guesses.

“It tells you how little we really knew about dolphins just until the last decade,” Carmichael said.

A big part of that discovery comes from a method called photo identification. Researchers head out on the water and photograph dolphins’ dorsal fins. Each fin has its own set of nicks, notches and scars, which act like a fingerprint.

By matching those fins across photos, scientists can recognize individual animals and follow them over time, learning where they travel, who they spend time with and how they use different parts of the bay.

That research has reinforced what scientists have long suspected: dolphins are closely tied to the overall health of the Gulf.

“If you can remember that we really do have one ocean, and it’s linked to one health, and that’s dolphin health and our health, those are so intimately linked,” Carmichael said.

Dolphins are also a big part of what draws people to the coast.

“They indicate that habitats are great,” Carmichael said. “They also drive people to the coast because people want to see these animals.”

But even as dolphins bring people closer to the water, human activity can create challenges. One of the most common issues involves fishing interactions, when dolphins try to grab fish and become tangled in gear.

“It’s a lose-lose situation when you have dolphin fishery interactions,” Carmichael said.

Another problem often starts with something people think is harmless: feeding them.

“Every time somebody feeds a dolphin from a boat … they’re actually associating that dolphin with food,” Russell said. “And then that eventually can turn into those things like … they relate all boats to food.”

Over time, that behavior can put dolphins at risk of injury from boats or conflict with fishermen. It can also lead to dangerous encounters for people.

Because of that, researchers say the best way to enjoy dolphins is also the simplest: give them space and let them be wild.

“Turn your boat engine off and just enjoy watching,” Russell said. “Sometimes you’ll get the best experiences just doing that.”

If people encounter a dolphin that appears sick, injured or stranded, officials say it’s important not to intervene directly but to report it to trained responders. The 24/7 hotline for reporting marine mammals across the Southeast is 1-877-WHALE-HELP (942-5343).

Beyond keeping a safe distance, small actions can have a big impact. Keeping trash out of the water, securing items on boats and following safe fishing practices all help protect dolphins and the environment they depend on.

Dolphin Awareness Month is less about changing behavior overnight and more about reminding people of something simple: the Gulf is a shared space.

“We get to share our backyard with these wonderful animals,” Russell said. “So take good care of it, and if you take good care of it, you’ll take good care of them and yourself.”

Gabriella Chavez is a Report for America corps member who writes about growth and development in Baldwin County and our natural spaces for Gulf Coast Media. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://tinyurl.com/yaf8yf5n.