The warning to approach dolphins with care coincides this summer with a video that’s gone viral of a snorkeler off Inis Oirr giving a dolphin a belly rub.
Dr. Simon Berrow, of the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group, has warned that it is best to always keep your distance, however, as dolphins on Inis Oirr and elsewhere have become aggressive with humans in the past.
The footage below was captured in Galway two years ago.
Dr Berrow warned in particular that groups of dolphins should not be split up.
"Go slow and let them come to you. Bottle nose dolphins are inquisitive animals so they probably will."