Dead dolphins in NJ

[buckethead]

Common dolphin found dead in Highlands

by MaryAnn Spoto (mspoto@starledger.com)/The Star-Ledger Friday November 14, 2008, 2:39 PM


Bridge workers found a dead dolphin floating in the Shrewsbury River this morning, but officials say it was not part of the pod that has been in the area since early summer.

Crews from the state Department of Transportation found the animal floating near the Route 36 Highlands Bridge during an incoming tide before 8 a.m., said Teri Frady, spokeswoman for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The bridge has been under construction since July. Volunteer spotters as well as DOT workers have been recruited to observe the water around the bridge to determine whether construction is having a deleterious effect on the bottlenose dolphins still in the estuary.
Frady said the Marine Mammal Stranding Center in Brigantine was immediately notified and, with NOAA, has arranged for a necropsy to be performed to determine the cause of death and confirm the species.

She said the mammal was a common dolphin, not a bottlenose dolphin _ the species of dolphins that were first spotted in the Shrewsbury and Navesink rives in June.
Two animals from that pod, originally estimated at 16, have washed up dead in the past two months. Staff from the stranding center has advocated trying to coax the dolphins back into the ocean before the weather turns cold, but NOAA, concerned the animals could die in the process, has decided to continue monitoring them/
Unlike the bottlenose dolphin, which tend to swim in small groups off the coast, common dolphin often travel in very large pods offshore, Frady said.

[hookset]

No offense, but I am so sick of hearing about those dolphins. Poor dying dolphins, anyone ever see them go through and chop up a school of fish? They'll leave when theres no more food, drama over.

[basshunter]

If they are up there, wouldnt there be bait around? how much bait could be around in the winter?
Pod of dolphins are seem swimming in frigid Hackensack River in Bergen County

By The Star-Ledger Continuous News Desk (http://connect.nj.com/user/njoslcnd/index.html)

February 17, 2010, 7:42PM

BERGEN COUNTY -- A group of between eight and 15 dolphins have been seen swimming in the Hackensack River near Route 46 (http://www.northjersey.com/news/021710_Dolphins_seen_in_Hackensack_River.html), according to a report on NorthJersey.com
Several sightings have been reported near Teaneck and Bogota, though marine officials said not much can be done unless the dolphins appear to be in trouble, the report said.
A pod of 16 dolphins spent part of the summer of 2008 swimming in the Navesink and Shrewsbury rivers in Monmouth County, but some became trapped by ice in the winter and eventually died. Scientists recovered the carcasses of at least six of those dolphins.
The Monmouth dolphin pod touched off an intense debate about whether to attempt a rescue as winter approached.
Full coverage and photos of the Bergen dolphin pod on NorthJersey.com (http://www.northjersey.com/news/021710_Dolphins_seen_in_Hackensack_River.html)


http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/02/pod_of_dolphins_are_found_swim.html

[gjb1969]

i see them a while ago they seem ok swimming back and forth its not the first time so i am not suprized they are there i was watching them last week i hope they live and move out to deeper water:)

[voyager35]

If they are up there, wouldnt there be bait around? how much bait could be around in the winter?


You would be surprised at the amount of bait and small stripers that winter in that river, basshunter. My cousin has a shop up there. He says they have been up and down for awhile. They could either be eating very small bass, seabass, herring, or peanut bunker. A lot of the bass that winter over in the Meadowlands system and the Arthur Kill are 3-12" first year class. Once the waters back there start warming up they will be filled with baitfish, killies, spearing, etc.

[seamonkey]

I read a post here about some washing up. Wondered if it was gillnetters and if there was a way to prove who is doing this?
There was a story today about one off the coast of AC


http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/down-the-shore/item/57958-fishermen-film-shark-devouring-dolphin-seven-miles-off-atlantic-city
Down the Shore (http://stripersandanglers.com/index.php/down-the-shore)

Justin Auciello
Fishermen film shark attacking dead dolphin seven miles off Atlantic City

July 31, 2013
By Justin Auciello, of JSHN
http://w.sharethis.com/images/check-small.png http://w.sharethis.com/images/check-small.png http://w.sharethis.com/images/check-small.png http://w.sharethis.com/images/check-small.png

Two fishermen witnessed a 12-foot shark devour a dead bottle-nose dolphin just seven miles off Atlantic City Tuesday afternoon, NBC40 reports (http://www.nbc40.net/story/22973293/fishermen-film-12-ft).

Anthony Cortes and David Hermann both said that they have never witnessed such an event, with Hermann telling the television station that he had fished that area "hundreds of times" and that the sight "was amazing."

Cortes described to NBC40: "As we were drifting along fishing, we happened to see a 2-foot fin sticking up out of the water and we went over to the fish to inspect it and we got to see a spectacular image of a shark chewing apart a bottle-nose dolphin."
Hermann continued, "It was going around in a circle and then it would attack it and then it would go around in another circle and then attack it like that."

Nineteen bottle-nose dolphins have washed ashore at New Jersey beaches in the last 19 days, and marine experts are investigating.
Marine Mammal Stranding Center Director Bob Schoelkopf told NBC40 that dolphins commonly become caught in fishing lines at the Great Egg Harbor Reef, which attracts sharks. Officials could not identify the shark in the fishermen's video.

[fishinmission78]

Some big monsters out there right now. These guys shot this video off Atlantic City in June


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RC6wiLR2FO4

[fishinmission78]

I think those dolphins were definitely killed by the gillnetters. Saw them every week in May and June in the Seaside and Ocean county area. There is no reason to kill the dolphins the guys doing that are sick and twisted.

[Monty]

I think those dolphins were definitely killed by the gillnetters. Saw them every week in May and June in the Seaside and Ocean county area. There is no reason to kill the dolphins the guys doing that are sick and twisted.
I agree, its infuriating. Disgusts me.

[captnemo]

Read this news article yesterday. For the ones in NJ I assumed it was the gill-netters because of the type of injuries.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/u-declares-unusual-mortality-event-dolphin-deaths-rise-235153203.html

U.S. declares 'unusual mortality event' as dolphin deaths riseBy Francesca Trianni | Reuters – 19 hours ago







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By Francesca Trianni

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Federal scientists investigating an unusually high number of dead bottlenose dolphins washing up on the East Coast said on Thursday the carcasses are showing up at a rate that is seven times higher than usual.

More than 120 dead animals have been discovered since June from New Jersey to Virginia, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Fisheries Service said.
Federal scientists have declared it an "unusual mortality event" and are investigating the cause, said Maggie Mooney-Seus of NOAA Fisheries.

A number of things can cause dolphins to strand, including harmful algal blooms, infectious viruses, injuries due to ship strikes, pollutants and human-made runoff, NOAA said.

Although the cause has not been determined, early tissue analysis showed that one suspect could be morbillivirus, an infectious pathogen, said Teri Rowles, national marine mammal stranding coordinator for NOAA Fisheries.
Marine stranding response centers are collecting information on the deaths and necropsies are being performed, but it could take several weeks to determine what led to the deaths, the NOAA said.

In this month alone, 28 dolphins were found dead along the shores of the East Coast.
It has been 25 years since the last large die-off of dolphins along the U.S. coast. In 1987, more than 740 animals died of morbillivirus on the coast from New Jersey to Florida.

Scientists warned the public not to approach the animals if they see one stranded because they could harbor an infectious disease.
They ask that dead or stranded mammals in the Northeast be reported to NOAA's marine mammal stranding network at 1-866-755-6622.

[cowherder]

Thanks for posting it was informative capt! I don't know why they are dying at a faster rate but I think in nj it def has something to do with the gill netters as the dead ones had marks on them like they had been in nets. It is a shame to see these beautiful creatures come to their deaths like that.

[voyager35]

I read something about it being a viral infection. They seem to be particularly susceptible to it because they travel so closely together in pods. Don't know if it is true but it makes sense.

[seamonkey]

They also follow the food. Wasn't there something in north jersey a few years ago where they stayed too late and froze to death? Does anyone here also remember reading that thread?

I heard they are the most intelligent marine mammals out there. So intelligent that they won't hit a lure if you are casting or trolling it. So how come they don't have sense enough to leave when the water temperatures become threatening to them?

[finchaser]

http://articles.dailypress.com/2013-08-28/news/dp-nws-dolphin-findings-20130828_1_morbillivirus-dead-dolphins-dolphin-deaths Has happened before will save allot of bass from being a meal as the fall run winds down

[DarkSkies]

Sent in by Fin, thanks:


Die-off of Bottlenose Dolphins, Caused By Virus, Is Worst in 25 Years

www.washingtonpost.com

Die-off of Bottlenose Dolphins, Caused By Virus, Is Worst in 25 Years

2013-08-27 20:20:22.657 GMT

Die-off of Bottlenose Dolphins, Caused By Virus, Is Worst in 25 Years By Lenny Bernstein Aug. 27 (Washington Post) --

Marine scientists said Tuesday that a die-off of bottlenose dolphins along the Atlantic seaboard is the largest in a quarter-century and is almost certainly from the same cause as the 1987-88 outbreak: cetacean morbillivirus, which is spreading throughout the population From New York to North Carolina, 357 dead or dying dolphins have washed ashore since July 1, and authorities have received numerous additional reports of carcasses floating in the ocean, said Teri Rowles, director of the marine mammal health and stranding response program for NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service.

More than half the carcasses have come ashore in Virginia, she said. The measleslike virus has been confirmed or suspected in 32 of 33 dolphins tested so far, Rowles said.

Marine officials are looking at the possible involvement of other factors, including high levels of PCB (polychlorinated biphenyl) and other chemicals in the water, but they have not linked anything else to the die-off. From 2007 to 2012, the average number of yearly strandings in the same states was 36, Rowles said.

The last big outbreak spanned 1987 and 1988, killing more than 700 dolphins. "If indeed this plays out the way that die-off occurred, we're looking at the die-off being higher and the mobillivirus spreading southward," Rowles said. The virus poses no threat to humans, but secondary infections could be dangerous.

Authorities urged people to stay away from stranded dolphins. "For people not trained in working with these animals and who don't understand the risk, it's much better . . . to stay away from them, particularly if you have open wounds," Rowles said. It is not clear what started most recent die-off, but Jerry Saliki, a virologist at the University of Georgia, said that some animals carry the virus naturally and that when a population's collective immunity declines, the virus can take hold and spread.

This appears to happen episodically and continues until a sufficient number of dolphins are exposed and develop immunity to the virus, he said. Scientists are investigating whether the die-off might be moving south with migrating dolphins.

leonard.bernstein@washpost.com (leonard.bernstein@washpost.com) -0- Aug/27/2013 20:20 GMT

[baitstealer]

Authorities urged people to stay away from stranded dolphins. "For people not trained in working with these animals and who don't understand the risk, it's much better . . . to stay away from them, particularly if you have open wounds," Rowles said. It is not clear what started most recent die-off, but Jerry Saliki, a virologist at the University of Georgia, said that some animals carry the virus naturally and that when a population's collective immunity declines, the virus can take hold and spread.


Very informative. I would have never known. Didn't think you could get a bad disease from a dolphin. Thank you for posting that.

[fishinmission78]

Another one. Lavallette this time.
http://jshn.org/lavallette-dolphin-dies-swimming-ashore/

[storminsteve]

Read about that. Seems like people were too stupid to do anything that would have helped it survive. Shame.