Demi and the Dolphins: A Lesson in Ecology - Softcover

Harrell, Alyssa K.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 146204431X ISBN 13: 9781462044313

Publisher: iUniverse Publishing, 2011

Synopsis

Captain Demi is young, smart, and beautiful, but she is also stubborn and selfish. She comes from four generations of tuna fishermen. She is the youngest captain and the only female to have taken over the family business.

New laws governing tuna fishing with nets is making business difficult for her. Her family has been net fishing for generations, why should things have to change now? Demi doesn't care if net fishing drowns dolphins; they are not how she makes her living.

Demi and her crew are anxious to finish their run and head home. They need a big catch and the quickest way to do that is with the illegal nets. Convinced it is okay to do as long as no one is around to catch her, Demi prepares to drop the nets on a school of tuna. She knows some dolphin will get caught as well and drown, but all she cares about is making money.

Demi is unaware that one of her crew is also a spy for the police, and he is watching her every move in order to catch her in the act of using illegal nets. An accident occurs that puts Demi's life in peril. What happens next is magical, and becomes life changing for her.

About this title

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Demi and the Dolphins

A Lesson in EcologyBy Alyssa K. Harrell Marlene Siegel

iUniverse, Inc.

Copyright © 2011 Alyssa K. Harrell
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4620-4431-3

Chapter One

Demi and the Dolphins

It was 4:30 in the afternoon; the sun would be setting soon. December 11, 2004, would change the lives of the Sea Savey's crew forever. They were out in the Pacific Ocean, hoping for one more big catch of tuna to end the day. The crew of three had been at sea for three weeks, and they were getting anxious to finish the run. As soon as they caught their limit of tuna, they could head home.

The bright sun was setting, leaving the sky on fire with brilliant oranges, pinks, blues, and purples; it looked like a rainbow painted across the sky. The clouds were wispy and paper thin, spread like sheets across the heavens. There was little wind, leaving the ocean surface like a glass tabletop and extending visibility for miles.

Avi, the first mate up in the crow's nest, was diligently spying the vast ocean surface for dolphins breaking the water.

The crow's nest got its name because it looked like a bird's nest at the top of a tall pole, giving the lookout person an unobstructed view for miles in any direction.

Avi, an experienced tuna fisherman, was turning forty years old today. He was the oldest of eight boys in his family and had grown up on his dad's tuna fishing boat. He had been working on the Sea Savey for the past ten years, ever since his family retired their vessel. Being six feet tall and slender made him ideal as a lookout in the narrow crow's nest.

Thirty years of fishing experience had taught Avi that tuna are often schooling under pods of dolphins. Avi chuckled to himself as he wondered who came up with the term "pod" to describe a group of dolphins. People were a family, and birds were a flock. Why were dolphins a pod? And did the term "schooling" mean they weren't just hanging out together, but they were learning from one another too? He pondered these thoughts as he scanned the water's surface for dolphins. He felt his tummy begin to rumble, and his thoughts strayed to what Mikey was cooking for dinner in the boat's kitchen, which is called the galley.

"Hey, Mikey! What's for dinner?" Avi yelled in his deep, gruff voice.

"Food!" Mikey yelled back in a sassy tone.

On a fishing boat, everyone is expected to perform many jobs. When the crew is trapping tuna in nets, everyone on the boat helps get the fish on board. When they're not catching fish, each crew member has specific jobs to do.

Mikey was hired to be the cook for the crew. He was the newest crew member and the youngest, being only twenty-four years old, a combination that earned him "low man on the totem pole" status. Mikey got this job four weeks ago when he answered an ad Captain Demi had run in the newspaper looking for a chef for Sea Savey. Mikey was short, only five foot five, but he was tanned and strong. He was as graceful as a deer and as nimble as a monkey. Best of all, he was a terrific cook!

Captain Demi knew Mikey was a marine biologist with a special interest in studying dolphins, but she had no idea that he was really working for the police to catch tuna fisherman like her, who were illegally using nets that kill dolphins.

Demi, captain of the Sea Savey, was at the wheel, navigating the waters, looking for dolphins, and listening to the casual chatter of her crew. She had been a captain for two years, after taking over her dad's job when he retired. She came from a long line of tuna fisherman, four generations to be exact. Not only was she the first female captain in her family, but at age twenty-five, she was the youngest as well!

Growing up, she had two passions—dancing and the sea. She could easily have been a dancer, being of medium height and having a slim figure and long, straight, blonde hair, but she preferred the solitude of the sea over the hustle and bustle of city life.

"Is that all you think about? Food?" teased Demi as she looked up at Avi in the crow's nest. She knew that Avi's favorite thing in the whole wide world was food. "It's a wonder you aren't the size of a whale," she added with a smile.

Demi had known Avi since she was a little girl; their families had lived in the same small fishing community for years. She loved him like a dad, and Avi cared for her as if she were his own daughter.

Two and a half miles away, a large pod of bottlenose and snub nose dolphins were unsuspectingly heading straight for danger! Jerry, the leader of the pod, was taking his group on a search for food and was staying alert for danger. Before long, the pod was near the boat. Dolphins often enjoy playing alongside boats.

Marlene, the second oldest female, gave off a series of clicks and whistles, signaling the group to stop because it was time for her to have her baby. Carol, her best friend, went with her to find a protected rock area where she could quietly have her baby and be protected from sharks and aggressive male dolphins.

While the pod waited for Marlene and Carol to return with the newborn dolphin, several of the younger dolphins had contests to see who could jump out of the water the highest, spin circles the longest, and leap the farthest. Another group of dolphin kids raced to ride the wake of the Sea Savey. Playing was what young dolphins loved to do best.

Suddenly, a scream shattered the air. "Dolphin on the starboard! Man the nets!" Avi had been the first to spot the dolphin on the right side of the boat, and using sea terms, he sounded the alarm.

It was easy for Mikey to hear the crew on deck because the boat was not large and sound travels far when the only thing around is water. Mikey dropped the salad bowl on the table and scrambled to help with the nets. "Hang on! I'm coming!" he hollered from below deck.

Avi looked like he was repelling down a rock wall as he scrambled down from the crow's nest and raced for the nets. Meanwhile, Demi was expertly positioning the boat for them to drop the nets and capture the tuna that normally school above the dolphins. The unfortunate dolphins would be caught as well. Once trapped in the nets, the dolphins wouldn't be able to surface for air and would drown, which is why laws had been passed to prevent net fishing.

Demi quickly scanned the horizon for any boats that may have been close enough to see them illegally fishing with nets. She knew it was wrong to catch tuna in nets, and she knew about the laws protecting dolphins from this threat, but she didn't feel the rules applied to her.

"Avi, are there any boats near that can catch us?" yelled Demi suspiciously.

Unlike most of the other fishermen, who respected the laws on net fishing, Captain Demi resented the new laws. Her family had hunted tuna with nets just fine for years. So what if a few silly dolphins got tangled in the nets and died! As far as she was concerned, she could use nets to hunt as long as no one was around to catch her.

As the crew readied to drop the nets, Mikey did a last- minute check for his "bug." The police had given him a shirt with a special button that looked like the other buttons, but in fact it was a special radio that allowed the police to hear everything being said. When Mikey gave the signal that Demi was illegally trapping dolphins, the police would fly in with a helicopter, catch her breaking the law, and arrest her! His heart was racing, and his palms were sweaty.

When the police first approached him earlier in the year to help with the sting operation, he thought they were talking about operating on a stingray! Now he understood that a "sting" was the name used for a secrete operation to trap and catch someone in the act of doing something wrong.

Mikey loved dolphins, so he was willing to help the police in order to save them. He was nervous and excited all at the same time. Marine biologists normally spy on fish and sea mammals, not people breaking the law.

The crew moved like a well-oiled machine with precision and speed. Timing was critical if they were to be successful.

The nets were dropped, catching many tuna and the pod of dolphins. The only dolphins not trapped were Marlene and Carol, who had not yet returned with the newborn dolphin. The rest of the pod was helplessly trapped, in grave danger because they couldn't reach the surface to breath. There wasn't much time left to save them!

Jerry, the dolphin's leader, had to think fast. In a matter of moments, he had used bubbles and clicks to call for help. Marlene and Carol weren't close enough to hear it, but a nearby pod of helmet-head dolphins heard the distress call and rushed headlong toward the ropes that trapped their friends.

On board the boat, Mikey knew he had to work fast in order to save the dolphins. But before Mikey had a chance to signal the police to swoop in and catch Demi in the act of net fishing, the boat began to lift and tip sideways. A large wave seemed to have appeared from nowhere. Something huge under the water's surface was pushing the water forward and creating a large tidal surge.

The crew couldn't see the pod of helmet-head dolphins, over ten in all, rushing at the boat like a wall, pushing a massive amount of water in front of them.

Dolphins are smart animals, and they can figure out how to solve problems. They had seen nets being used for years and had played with many fishing nets that had been lost at sea. The helmet-head dolphins knew they had to find the latch that held the net together, and they had to do it fast or their dolphin friends would drown in the net.

To find the latch, they used their special gift of echolocation, a technique whereby they emit sounds that travel through the water and then the sound waves bounce back off the object, giving the dolphins the precise location of the object. Echolocation is so powerful, a dolphin can tell a nickel from a dime at a distance of twenty feet—so finding a five-inch latch was a piece of cake.

One of the helmet heads swam to the latch, grabbed it with his teeth, and popped it open! With just seconds to spare, several other helmet heads bit pieces of the netting and pulled hard, opening the net and freeing their friends!

As the trapped dolphins were being freed, Demi realized that the helmet heads were going to ruin her net, and she was about to lose the dolphins and her precious tuna. Demi was not willing to lose her revenue without a fight. She lunged for her rifle, hoping she still had a few seconds to prevent the disaster. With anger and determination, she aimed for the closest helmet head.

The instant before Demi fired, Mikey recognized the dolphin about to be shot by the unique marking on her dorsal fin. There was no mistaking that large sunburst. No two dolphins have the exact same markings. It was Melody, a dolphin he had come to know through his research. Without hesitation, Mikey lunged at Demi and tried to knock the rifle away. "No!" he screamed.

A struggle ensued. Demi was knocked off balance and hit her head on the boat's sidewall. Before Mikey could recover his balance and catch her, she toppled headfirst over backward, like she was doing a backflip, and fell seemingly unconscious into the ocean.

As Demi sank deeper, a shark smelled the blood gushing from her head wound. Demi's fate looked bleak. She was either going to drown or be shark bait!

Poseidon, the god of the sea, had used his magical trident to see everything happening in the ocean. He had been majestically sitting on his throne, intently watching the tragic scene unfold. He thoughtfully strummed the trident, which looked like a pitchfork but had only three prongs at the end.

Poseidon knew that Demi had hunted and killed many dolphins. If he did nothing, she would surely die. But what if ... an idea came to him! He had a plan for how to turn Demi into a dolphin advocate, someone who helps dolphins instead of harming them.

Using his trident as a magician uses a magic wand, he extended his right arm to its full length, aimed the trident at Demi, and flicked his wrist, sending a massive bubble to engulf Demi's unconscious body. A moment later, Demi was a bottle-nosed dolphin!

As the bubble popped, Demi began to regain consciousness. At first, her vision was blurry, but as she focused her eyes, she began to see more clearly. She gazed at what appeared to be a beautiful saltwater fish tank, filled with large, colorful coral reefs, lush, deep green sea grass, and many tiny multicolored fish.

Suddenly, she realized that the fish were looking at her, and she was in the tank with them! How could she be in the water? She was confused. The last thing she remembered was being on the boat fighting with Mikey over the gun—and now she was underwater?

An uncomfortable feeling began to take over. Someone was watching her. Slowly she turned around. Less than a hundred feet away was a huge shark, staring at her with a menacing sneer. There was no doubt in her mind he was sizing her up as his next dinner. Without another thought about the mystery of where she was and how she got there, she whipped back around and screamed, "Ahhh! A shark!"

Like a bullet, she shot to the surface. As she burst out of the water, she spotted her boat and crew. "Here I am! Here I am! Save me!" she screamed. Avi heard the commotion in the water and turned to her. She saw Avi grab for the gun and was relieved, knowing Avi was a great marksman and would surely kill the shark and save her. But instead of directing his gun at the shark, Avi aimed his rifle at her!

Without hesitation, she gathered her strength and leaped into the air.

She did a flip and then dove back under the water. She looked down for her hands only to discover a set of fins where her arms were supposed to be. She looked for her feet and found a tail!

"Oh my goodness, I'm a dolphin!" she uttered in amazement. Though her thoughts were in the language she recognized, the words she spoke came out in whistling sounds. She was thinking in her native language but speaking in a foreign language.

Before she had time to wonder how all these miracles had happened, she spotted the shark again, circling her from a distance of less than a hundred feet. He was ignoring the other fish and dolphins that were nearby, focusing only on her. She had to decide quickly how to get away. She couldn't go to the surface, or Avi would shoot her. Demi aimed down, and with all her strength, she bolted for the ocean bottom. She spotted an underwater cave, 1600 feet below, the distance of almost six football fields in a row, the deepest a dolphin could dive. If she was lucky, she would beat the shark there.

Just before she reached the mouth of the underwater cave, four bottle-nosed dolphins zoomed past her at full speed, heading straight for the shark. She didn't see where they had come from, and she didn't care; she was just grateful she wasn't alone with the hungry shark! She twisted back to see what was going to happen next.

Her heart was pounding so fast and so hard, she was afraid it would burst out of her chest. She tried to catch her breath while watching in horror as the dolphins pummeled headfirst into the shark. They struck blow after blow until the shark sank lifeless to the ocean floor.

Demi floated motionless for a few moments until the realization of what had just happened sunk in. "I'm safe!" she whistled. She rushed over to her saviors and rapidly thanked them for saving her. "Thanks! That was amazing. You weren't even afraid of that shark. How did you happen to show up in the nick of time? How can I repay you? Who are you? What are your names?" The words bubbled and whistled from Demi's mouth.

"Aw, it was nothing. We needed an excuse to get rid of that vicious bully anyway. I'm Chance, and these are my brothers." Chance was the smallest of the group and seemed to be the one in charge. "Are you okay?" he asked. "Would you like to come back to our pod?"

"Sure, I'd love to!" Demi answered eagerly. She sure wasn't looking forward to meeting any other unfriendly creatures of the deep alone!

(Continues...)

Excerpted from Demi and the Dolphinsby Alyssa K. Harrell Marlene Siegel Copyright © 2011 by Alyssa K. Harrell. Excerpted by permission of iUniverse, Inc.. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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Edition details

• Publisher: iUniverse Publishing
• Publication date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 146204431X
• ISBN 13: 9781462044313
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 108