BATAAN?Fishermen shooed away some 300 melon-head dolphins stranded off the coast in an attempt to save them, but three of them died including a pregnant female, the Fisheries Bureau said here Tuesday.

The dolphins might have been disoriented after following vessels sailing toward Manila Bay, and they were probably driven to Bataan after encountering Manila Bay?s dirty waters, Fisheries official Nelson Bien said.

?These creatures frequent deep and clean oceans, and they could easily detect dirty water,? he said.

Bataan Gov. Enrique Garcia said the dolphins swam parallel to the coast toward Mariveles town and then back to Abucay, Hermosa, and Manila Bay before they were eventually herded farther offshore.

?There are theories that this phenomenon was a result of the lunar eclipse that occurred Monday night. The Fisheries Bureau will know after their tests,? Garcia said. Albert Lacanlale