Focus on Ocean's Health as Dolphin Deaths Soar 

By: Lizette Alvarez 


Even though we really need to focus on the ocean, we also need to pay attention to the marine wildlife. (Alvarez). Dolphins have been turning up off of coasts completely deteriorated in Miami. Looking back in June, they first started showing up on the coast of New Jersey and will soon turn up in Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia. This is a huge concern for this animal. "So far this year, nearly 1,000 bottlenose dolphins- eight times the historical average- have washed up dead along the Eastern Seaboard from New York to Florida, a vast majority of them victims of morbillivirus. Many more are expected to die from the disease in the coming months". (Alvarez 1). Because the high numbers of death over the last 25 years, scientists are really concerned. Dr. Greg Bossart, a veterinary pathologist has said that bottlenose dolphins usually stay near and close to shore lines, so whatever happens close to shore, will affect them also. (Alvarez). 

It has been hard to identify the complete cause of death because all of these dolphins are near and experience different things. (Alvarez). Research also tells us that these dolphins have to fight disease, infection, and the residue from the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010. "It is alarming when you see so many different die-offs of marine mammals going on at once," said Erin Fougeres, a marine mammal biologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's fisheries service, which is tracking and investigating the deaths. "We can't say they are linked. But it says there are a lot of challenges that marine mammals are facing." (Fougeres). In addition, more and more dolphins are going to unfortunately die because they spreading it through one another. Overall, dolphins are really suffering throughout the coat and this is only the beginning. (Alvarez). 


http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/23/us/focus-on-oceans-health-as-dolphin-deaths-soar.html?ref=oceans