News
Second Dolphin Found Dead In Navesink - Officials call for action to move dolphins out to sea
By Ryan Fennell
A SECOND DEAD dolphin was discovered last week on the banks of the Navesink River.
Two weeks ago, the body of a juvenile dolphin washed ashore at Fair Haven Yacht Works where it was discovered by Jim Cerruti, who immediately notified authorities.
The pod entered the Shrewsbury River last June and later moved into the Navesink where they were often seen around Oceanic Bridge.
Concern has been mounting among marine experts and officials that the dolphins would be endangered if they remained in the river into the fall.
According to Robert Schoelkopf, director of the Marine Mammal Stranding Center (MMSC) in Brigantine, N.J., the first confirmed death was related to a fungal pneumonia. Although toxicology reports have not yet been returned, this second dead dolphin also showed signs of having a fungal pneumonia.
While this is only the second deceased dolphin recovered from the river, there was a report of a dolphin floating belly-up in Sandy Hook Bay on August 20th. Scott Hilliard of the Prowler 5 took a photograph of the apparently lifeless dolphin and reported it to the authorities. A search of the area was conducted but no body was recovered.
Peter Kane, 14, along with Artie Tildesley, 14, and Patrick Keenan, 14, spent the better part of Wednesday October 8th fishing on the Navesink River. According to Kane, after the group had finished fishing, they were drifting along the coastline when Kane saw something odd on shore. The boys approached the shoreline on the northern side of the Navesink in Middletown and discovered the body of the second dead dolphin.
They called the authorities and volunteers from the MMSC recovered the body from the river.
The dolphin had been dead for several days and had no signs of trauma. According to Schoelkopf when a dolphin is discovered after having died several days earlier, an autopsy is not usually performed. However, given the circumstance, the New Bolten Center at the University of Pennsylvania Veterinary School agreed to perform an autopsy.
Although the second dolphin showed signs of dying from fungal pneumonia as was the case in the first dolphin recovered, the final report on what caused its death has not yet been released.
According to Schoelkopf there is no conclusive evidence at this point on what caused the dolphins to become sick or whether the remaining dolphins in the river are also sick.
Early Monday morning, between 3 and 4 a.m., there were reports of a small group of dolphins in the Shrewsbury River that appeared to be "coughing" according to Scott Longfield, a volunteer with the MMSC and TRT™'s chief photographer.
Although it has been difficult to determine exactly how many dolphins remain in the rivers, the approximate count at this time is between eight and ten. Finding the dead dolphin was a sad discovery for the three young fishermen.
"We were surprised," Kane said. "We remembered seeing them jumping out of the water all summer. It (the dead dolphin) looked small."
Kane said that he believes the dolphins may not have enough food at this point. According to Kane, in past years the dock at which he keeps his boat is normally covered in bunker, a common food source for dolphins. However, Kane said that the dock is bare of bunker, and he believes the dolphins have devoured the food source.
According to Schoelkopf, adult dolphins consume 25 pounds of food per day. This pod of dolphins has been trolling the Navesink and Shrewsbury rivers for approximately five months. Schoelkopf also said that the dolphins do appear to be underweight according to recent photographs taken of the pod.
"We were happy to have dolphins in the rivers this summer," Kane said. "But now that they are dying we don't want to see them all die. They have to get out somehow. If they stay here they are all going to die."
After the first dead dolphin was discovered Senator Joseph Kyrillos Jr. (R-13) expressed concern over the lack of initiative on the part of several agencies that should have addressed the situation. "It concerns me there are no plans in place," Kyrillos said.
Kyrillos wrote to the Marine Fishery Service urging them to evaluate the situation and come up with a plan to herd the dolphins back to open waters.
After this second dolphin was recovered, U.S. Representative Frank Pallone Jr. (D-NJ) spoke with Schoelkopf and representatives of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as well as the Department of Environment Protection to find out what plans are in place and what was being done about the dolphins in the rivers.
"After talking with Federal officials, I am encouraged that multiple agencies are developing a comprehensive plan to evacuate these dolphins," Pallone said. "However, action needs to be taken as soon as possible."
"Every day that goes by puts the remaining dolphins in danger. There is also a concern that the dolphins could swim deeper into the rivers. They need to be evacuated to their natural habitat in the Atlantic Ocean," Pallone concluded.
As of Wednesday morning, a group of dolphins was spotted near the Highlands Bridge, prompting some to hope that they are moving out to sea on their own. Bill Deerr, a stranding center technician, has been a "spotter" on the bridge to alert the MMSC if the dolphins approach the bridge. The Department of Transportation has funded Deerr's presence on the bridge for that purpose.
Construction on the Highlands Bridge was halted on Wednesday morning. Also on Wednesday, NOAA was expected to conduct an evaluation of the situation but no definite plans have been set.
There are approximately 30 boats with dozens of volunteers including fire, police and rescue teams standing by to execute an evacuation plan when the proper course of action is determined.
Preliminary plans are to play recorded sounds of "frolicking" dolphins out in the open waters in an attempt to lure the dolphins in the river out into the ocean.
Physically moving the dolphins is a dangerous effort for both parties, dolphins and humans, and would be used as a last resort.
