August 2, 2013 — Dozens of dead or sick Atlantic bottlenose dolphins have washed ashore along beaches from Virginia north to New York, including several baby dolphins in Delaware, since early June.
Federal fisheries officials, along with state resources and marine mammal stranding organizations, are trying to figure out why.
“We’re still collecting data,” said Marjorie Mooney-Seus, a spokeswoman for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries, based in New England.
What federal officials know so far is that the highest number of reported dolphin deaths have come from Virginia and New Jersey. In July alone, there were 42 dead bottlenose dolphins reported in Virginia, 20 in New Jersey, 15 in New York, seven in Maryland and one in Delaware, she said.
Most of Delaware’s baby dolphin deaths — animals that were just a few weeks old — occurred between late May and June, said Suzanne Thurman, executive director of the MERR Institute, Delaware’s marine mammal stranding organization.