CHERRY POINT, N.C. — July 26, 2014 — The Marine Corps is asking for a five-year authorization from the National Marine Fisheries Service for incidental deaths of bottlenose dolphins during training exercises at a bombing and target range.
The Sun Journal of New Bern reports (http://bit.ly/1uoAqqb) that Connie Barclay of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says the authorization guarantees the Marines will be in compliance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The Marine Corps has applied for the authorization before, and the five-year request is designed to streamline the process.
The request would allow for 30 incidental deaths of dolphins during training within the five-year period that begins in September and ends in September 2019.
Read the full story from the Associated Press at The Republic