News
Dolphin Found Dead In Navesink
By Ryan Fennell
FAIR HAVEN - Jim Cerruti, owner of Fair Haven Yacht Works on DeNormandie Avenue in Fair Haven, hadn't seen the dolphins that made their way up the Shrewsbury and Navesink Rivers earlier this summer in a number of weeks.
Unfortunately for Cerruti, he discovered the first mortality of the pod on Wednesday morning when a juvenile dolphin washed ashore at his marina. Cerruti called the Marine Mammal Stranding Center in Brigantine, N.J. and TRT photographer Scott Longfield, who is a volunteer for the MMSC, arrived at the marina to bring the dolphin to the stranding center.
According to Cerruti, the dolphin did not appear to have any external injuries at the time of his discovery.
"There was nothing obvious that I could see that caused the death," Cerruti said. "It's sad because we're all hoping they find their way out of the river and instead we're starting to see them washing ashore."
Bob Schoelkopf, director of the MMSC, agreed that there was no obvious damage to the dolphin that could be determined to be the cause of death.
"There was some damage, but not necessarily associated with the cause of death," said Schoelkopf. "We've seen it before where the slight damage could have occurred post-mortem when it washed ashore."
According to Schoelkopf, the MMSC compared the dorsal notches of the dead dolphin to photos of the dolphins taken earlier this year, and he believes that they have matched it to one of the dolphins that were known to be in the Navesink.
The MMSC had volunteers in the Navesink on Wednesday to conduct a head count of the remaining dolphins.
Schoelkopf said that State Senator Joseph Kyrillos Jr. (R-13) has intervened and sent a letter to the National Marine Fishery Service requesting that there be an effort to guide the dolphins back out to the ocean.
"We now have some state intervention," Schoelkopf said. "Hopefully there will be an effort to recover the dolphins before it is too late, before the water temperature drops and before we see more dolphins washing ashore."
Schoelkopf said that there should have been an effort to remove them when they were first sighted in June.
"There should have been an effort and a plan initiated then but the federal government got involved and said that they were not stranded, and they were happy and frolicking," Schoelkopf said. "Obviously now they are not all happy and frolicking."
Kyrillos said that along with his letter he spoke with the Deputy Regional Administrator for the Marine Fisheries Service, Chris Mantzaris on Wednesday morning.
"I've done my best to shake them up," Kyrillos said. "It concerns me that there are no plans in place."
Kyrillos said that Mantzaris and the Fishery service are working on plans to remove the dolphins to be executed in late October if they are still in the river.
However, Schoelkopf believes that that will be too late because of the lack of food and the dropping temperatures.
"I got them to make a commitment that they would call Bob Schoelkopf to find out why he believes it is better off moving them now," Kyrillos said. "I told them to call Mr. Schoelkopf and have the kind of conversation they should be having, and they're not."
"Thousands of people have come down to see the dolphins this summer, and they have a lot of fans and friends," Kyrillos said. "And they are all watching what the protector of the dolphins is doing and that's the National Marine Fishery Service."
