Isla Chañaral (sometimes referred to as Isla Chanaral or Chanaral Island) is located 6 km off-shore from the northern Central Chilean coast, some 100 km north of the city of La Serena. Together with Isla Choros and Isla Damas, the island forms the Humboldt Penguin National Reserve, which is administered by the Chilean Forestry Corporation (CONAF). All three islands support populations of Humboldt penguins, but are also habitat for several other rare and endangered animal species such as the Peruvian diving petrel or the South American marine otter. In recent years the reserve has experienced a strong increase in tourist activities, mainly due to the presence of bottlenose dolphins that reside in the waters of the reserve. However, recently local fishermen reported increasing spells of dolp