An unusually high number of bottlenose dolphins are washing up on Mid-Atlantic shores on the East Coast. Most are dead upon being found. Federal scientists and scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are investigating the cause of this spike.
The mass death of the dolphins is seven times higher than average, with 124 dolphins reported to be washed up from New Jersey to Virginia, since July. One theory for the mysterious deaths is the morbillivirus, the culprit during the last large die-off of bottlenose dolphins, which occurred in 1987-1988. Unfortunately, if this is the case, there’s nothing that can be done. The outbreak would have to end on its own. We know that some dolphins can survive exposure to morbillivirus, although it’s not known what percentage do.
Is the Worst Yet to Come?
Another concern is that these bottlenose dolphins are like the “canary in the coal mine” indicating that something serious might be happening in the oceans. The coasts the dolphins are washing up on are the same coasts many people inhabit and eat from, and at a minimum will impact the local communities, regardless of the cause of the ever increasing dolphin death toll.