CATCH OF THE DAY!

ASALMON became the unluckiest fish in the Irish Sea – after it leapt out of the water and straight into the mouth of a passing dolphin.

The incredible moment was caught on camera by a wildlife guide in Cardigan Bay, who said he had never seen it happen before.

Joshua Pedley, who works as a guide for SeaMor Dolphin Watching Boat Trips in New Quay, was leading a trip along Cardigan Bay on Friday, June 24, when he spotted the bottlenose dolphin and took out his camera. In the sequence of images that followed, the fish can be seen leaping gracefully out of the sea before landing in the dolphin’s open mouth.

Those on the tour were left amazed, with Joshua admitting he was “very fortunate” to capture the moment on camera.

He said: “It happened on one of our normal, hour-long trips. We went round the bay of New Quay and then down the coast to a seabird colony and back.

“There’s a rocky reef that we go to that’s a good habitat for fish and where there’s fish, there’s a good chance that there could be dolphins about.

“It was a mum and a calf that we saw, the crew on the boat spotted it. I got my camera out and tried to get some photos, you never know when something spectacular might happen.

“Every encounter is fantastic, but sometimes your photos might just be of a fin surfacing and other times they might be incredible.”

Having noticed a change in activity among the dolphins, Joshua took a few snaps as they rose to the surface. However, it wasn’t until he looked back at his photos later on that he realised he had managed to capture the incredible moment.

While he has seen dolphins catch fish many times before, Joshua – who has worked as a guide for four years and shares wildlife photos on his Twitter account @MyWildlifePosts – admits he has never seen a catch made so easily.

He added the encounter has reminded him that getting a great shot can be worth the wait.

“We see a lot of active fishing from the dolphins and we have seen them playing with fish after they catch them too,” he said.

“But while we see all that, I have certainly never seen a fish jump straight into a dolphin’s mouth before.

“It was a very fortunate moment. I guess it goes to show if you’re spending all day with the dolphins, you’ll get lucky eventually with a shot like that.”